Dying Embers' Howl
by Galdr
Summary: [AU] It had to save the Seventh Fonon aggregate sentient from the core, from the miasma. The only way for Origin, the King of all aggregate sentient beings, to save it was to send itself. In the form of a human incarnate, it shall find its Sacred Light and bring prosperity to the world or bring ruinous destruction to itself. [Cover credited to original] [on hold]
1. Shrouding Genesis

Disclaimer: I don't own _Tales of the Abyss_ and/or _Tales of Vesperia_ or their characters; just this fan-fiction plot. Enjoy!

Shrouding Genesis

Chapter 1

-x-x-x-

_ND 1996, in the bedrock city of peace of the land of Ilyccia, a child shall be born, but of poverty. He shall be called, "laborer of the archaic original provenience" and be the scion of the Original One. In the form of the human incarnate shall the Original Sentient, King of all Fonim, cross Auldrant to find its Sacred Light._

_ND 2000, in Kimlasca shall be born one who inherits the power of Lorelei. He will be a boy of royal blood with hair of red. He shall be called the Light of the Sacred Flame and he will lead Kimlasca-Lanvaldear to new prosperity._

___ND 2002, in the city of where snow falls year-round, the one named "the pearly rose" shall be born, and will bring good fruit to her people._

_ND 2002, The One Who Would Seize Glory shall destroy the land upon which he was born. A land by the name of Hod. War shall thereafter persist between Kimlasca and Malkuth Empire for a full cycle of seasons. _

_ND 2003, the young Scion of the Original Sentient shall cross the waters to find and awaken the Scion of Lorelei's power in Kimlasca. _

-x-x-x-

**ND 1999**

~Zaphias, the Bedrock City of Peace~

-x-x-x-

A roaring thunder and flash of lightning boomed over the towering city of bedrock. Waves of dark clouds coated the skies from its radiant moonlight, shrouding everything in its wake in darkness. A man with short, pale-blond hair, dark russet colored eyes, having a tan complexion was armed with a sword sheathed at his left hip, a minutiae dagger sheathed and buckled to his waist's belt and having a swallow-tail cape flowing behind him, had been on the run for quite some time. Beside him was a dog in shades of blue with a long tail shaped like an inverted, curved blade, wearing body armor for protection was also running. In his arms was a small child, no more than three, bundled in a dark blanket wrapped around his tiny body for warmth and protection against the looming downpour that would soon come from the sky. In the boy's arms was a dog extremely similar to the larger one running beside his partner; a young puppy.

They hadn't known the whole details of everything, but they were being pursued. The little boy and his dog had been ripped out of their warm home, the inn, hours ago because of the knights of the Order. They were strangely corrupt and set out to kill the boy. They killed his mother, the innkeeper, knowing she had connections with a nobleman of the city, but it was in hopes of destroying the child she protected. She knew what his future would be, and the strange power the boy possessed. One thing remained for certain through their orders of searching for the child, their target.

He was a threat, a _huge_ threat and thorn in the Score.

Despite his birth was predicted in the Score, they knew they had to find him and detain him in hopes of controlling him. However, as soon they came to retrieve the child, he unknowingly killed—no, outright _obliterated_—more than half of their platoon with just a bat of an eyelid. The child hadn't known what he had done when he came to; just stood in front of several bystanders with soldiers turned to nothing but dust right before them. The strangest thing about him was that his tiny body was glowing brilliantly while he did, and his eyes looked possessed. They were a dark, blood-red color than their original, young grey tone. In that 'state', for a lack of better words, he could dispel any fonic artes that were sent his way or manipulated them right back at the caster. Another thing that also made that child stand out like a sore thumb.

The color of his hair; it looked black as night, but once you examined him up close, it was an ethereal black with violet hues humming through each strand of lock. Nobody in the entire world had that shade of hair. The closest it would get was if the person was born in the bedrock city of peace. Many lower class women had a shade of that hair color. It was possible the child came from one of them—that was proven when they raided the child's home which served as an inn for the weary. But, a tiny boy with powers that rivaled or rather, harnessed all the fonic elements?

That was _not_ normal from all standards. That boy was not _human_.

If what his birth Score and the Score read in the Order was absolute truth—which it was, by all means, perceived to be—then that child, that boy…no, that near-godly _incarnate_, was the ultimate Scion. The one who would find his Sacred Light some day and would one day give birth to prosperity or destruction upon the world. If that was true, then…the boy had to be destroyed, contained if they _couldn't_ kill him, given his near immortal status as an incarnate. But why? Why would the original fonime send its own self in the form of a human flesh into the world? What purpose? Was it because of both the dangers and wonders of the Seventh Fonon? Many have theorized that the Original Sentient wanted to destroy the Seventh Fonon, and one reason it sent its own self in such a form was to do so. Others theorized that the original fonime sentience wanted to protect the Seventh Fonon for whatever means.

And, if the Score is right—which by default, it _always_ is—then the Light of Sacred Flame, the one who will soon inherit the power of Lorelei, the sentient of the Seventh Fonon, that will be born in Kimlasca-Lanvaldear.

The Order was torn apart by this predicament; they would follow the Score as per teachings, uplift and uphold it for days to come. The child's birth was one in the Closed Score—those that would be held against public. But _somehow_, the child's parents, or parent, it appeared the husband of that innkeeper left her, knew of her son's powers and wanted to protect him. How did she know? As far as the Order knew, none, not even a Scorer, were sent to the capital city of Ilyccia to give any birth scores three years ago. So, how? But even then, the boy was still apart of the Score, and he had a duty to uphold when he aged. He was destined to meet with the Light of the Sacred Flame in a few years. He was sent here by the Original Sentient, possibly by its own soul and flesh as a suitable human body, to do something not even the Order knew what he was supposed to do.

_ND 1996, in the bedrock city of peace of the land of Ilyccia, a child shall be born, but of poverty. He shall be called, "laborer of the archaic original provenience" and be the scion of the Original One. In the form of the human incarnate shall the Original Sentient, King of all Fonim, cross Auldrant to find its Sacred Light._

That was all. He had to be the scion that was foretold in Yulia's Score. His first name matched the meaning in Ancient Ispanian. There was no denying this fact that boy was the one who would make a difference in all of Auldrant. And for this, apparently the Order of Lorelei had deduced by majority vote, that the child would be contained in Daath so he would never fulfill his destiny, regardless of what was promised, or he be killed so that it would never be fulfilled at all. After all, in the Score, it said the scion of Lorelei's power will bring prosperity to his people, his nation. There was no mentioning of the Original One's scion anywhere in that passage. They could make a minor detour around the foretelling of the Score.

Just this once.

This is what brings us to the current time.

"Don't worry, boy. I'll make sure you're safe." The swordsman said as he continued running, now outside of the imperial city. His and his companion's feet met many puddles that made themselves visible in the outstretched grassy, Mayoccian Plains of the southern Ilyccian region. He cuddled the child as much as he could, the now rain pouring down as if the Original Sentient itself was weeping for this unfortunate event.

Ah wait, that's right.

The man looked down at the boy, whose eyes were shut tight, silent, warm tears cascading down his young face. He was so precious, but he had nearly forgotten what he was told by the boy's mother before she succumbed to death's call. The boy he was holding now, the child he was to take to the lands of Kimlasca where he would be safe…he _is_, in one way or another, _the_ Original Sentient, just in the form of this innocent child. What is so important, so great, that the being itself must manifest into the world as a human being? Did it not know the dangers of which its human birth would be considered upon the mortal realm? Was it even thinking when it sent down a fragment, a shard, of its own soul and flesh to become this defenseless child who knew nothing of his powers and of his purpose to fulfill?

But, perhaps it knew what it was doing and that's why it sent itself down. Maybe there was something wrong in the world that it had to cleanse it. But, cleanse it from what?

Regardless of what that may be, the Original Fonim Sentient would protect its scion with all its might.

After all, what he saw back at the inn, there was no mistaking it anyway. The boy reacted to high fonic artes aimed at him when his mother was stabbed and struck down. It was instant, quick, extraordinary, and unfortunately, untamed. Fonic and magic artes merely disintegrated the moment it attempted to come within five feet of his small barrier he created. That power could go out of hand if not tempered at its young stage. It would also be terrible if any malice-hearted idiot comes around and gets their hands on the power as well. It's certainly dangerous, not only to the world, but to the boy himself. He could unwillingly destroy himself and the entire world if he wasn't careful, if he wasn't trained to control it.

And, that may be the reason the knights from the Order of Lorelei were after him.

Clad in sliver with black tabards, armed with swords and helmets, the knights of the Order, Oracle Knights from Daath, were in hot pursuit of the child.

The man found the boy's eyes opening slowly, his dark bangs shadowing his features a little but there was no doubt the kid was terrified. He had just seen his mother killed right before his eyes. That was something no child should have ever seen in his days of youth. He knew the boy was traumatized by the horror of this very night. Even the small, blue puppy he held comfortingly in his tiny arms tried his best to soothe his little master, but that wasn't helping as much. The man knew the boy was replaying the entire scene in his mind, wondering what happened, why it happened, and what went wrong that caused it. He and his mother were just fine, sitting comfortably in bed and waiting for the rainstorm that was predicted in the Score to fall.

But that all changed when suddenly, someone had pounded the inn door downstairs. Wondering who that was, possibly another customer, the mother had went left the bedside of her son and went to see who it was. The boy was told to stay in the room but curious little child he was, followed her. Strange men clad in silver armor were asking and demanding to search through the inn in search of someone important to Daath—a criminal. Seeing no harm as to allow them to search thoroughly, the woman allowed them in. When she noticed her son standing on the stairs, she immediately went to his side and…made a mistake.

She called him by his name.

_"Laborer of the archaic original provenience."_

She knew from then, the gasps from behind her meant one thing. These knights were after her son; her defenseless baby boy that she had harbored for three years since his birth. And now, he was suddenly a convict? Just for being born? No, that wasn't the reason. They were after him _because_ of what he could do, what he would do when he grew older. She knew his birth score; that was more than evidence enough for these soldiers. She was a criminal for harboring a baby that the Closed Score predicted, but was shadowed from sight. The description of the child was unknown until they saw him. His hair was moderately short—which only stopped around his ears, perhaps an inch longer—and had large, grey colored eyes that almost seemed darker with no light against them. His skin, a fair complexion and he wore simple, dog patterned pajamas, long sleeve and had a small hoodie on the back of the shirt. Right next to him was a small, blue dog with his paws, underbelly, and spots around the eyes a white color. He also had light blue eyes, the nicest shade a dog of its particular breed could have.

The child was barefoot and hadn't known what was going on. At first, the knights calmly demanded for the boy, offering him a place to stay in Daath. His mother politely declined, and that's when things turned ugly. Everything happened so fast, too quick for his eyes to follow, but he soon found himself within a knight's grasp, picking him up tentatively as if he were made of porcelain glass. The puppy was barking and growling as much as he could to ward them off, but figuring the dog would be a nuisance, they bagged it up, too. Turning to leave was their greatest mistake as the mother snuck up behind them, killing one by driving a knife through the soldier's stomach—the one who had her son. The man released the boy, who strangely remained silent but obvious terror was written on his face when he watched his mother defend him with all her might, all her skill.

…Was it foretold in the Score that she would die trying to protect him?

The man noticed the boy whimpering again, possibly due to those forsaken images returning. "Come now, it's going to be all right." He tried reassuring the sobbing child, hoping he would soon stop mourning. Now was the time for escape, and any sound that gave them away wasn't quite welcome. "Your father sent me to help you, and that's what I plan to do until your safe."

Safe. That word repeated itself like a hollow echo rebounding off walls in his mind. Where can anyone be safe in this dark world? How could _he_ be safe when there are knights chasing after him just because he was just being himself? Where could he go? Where could he stay? The boy didn't answer verbally because he was busy self wallowing in his three-year-old despair.

"Your father, I hope he knows what he's doing…" After all, the boy's father was a Viscount of Zaphias, but was with Daath, serving as an Oracle Knight himself. But, this man knew for sure the boy's father wouldn't have been so downright nasty as to send soldiers after his own blood. The boy's father was still a wee lad compared to him, having been a wide too young to be sprouting offspring. However, the offspring changed him from his distrusting ways of humankind. He had resumed his training here in Zaphias under the Nylen Royal Knight Guard after his son's birth, then a year later, was recruited to be a God-General under Daath's military.

But, his father wasn't in the wrong; he had absolutely _nothing_ to do with this insanity. In fact, by the time he gotten word of something suspicious, he had contacted him personally. He was right on the money to believe soldiers from Daath, under a different faction of orders, would come to the capital city of the Ilyccian nation and begin their search for the one foretold in the Closed Score. The poor child…

"Deidon Hold isn't far from here… Let's go, Lambert. We've a mission to do." The man called to his four-legged companion, who simply grunted in response.

Reaching the Capital of Light, as per request from Viscount Pantarei-Lowell was his mission. And he would see to it that it was completed, even if he had to die trying. He remembered the words written on the letter he received from the young man:

_Please, if she is dead by the time you get there, please, protect him. My most prized possession. I could not live without seeing his face… General Nylen Fedlock, I ask of you to do everything in your power to bring my son to the Capital of Light, Baticul, in the Kimlasca-Lanvaldear nation. I fear Oracle Knights not under my command will be heading to Zaphias to locate my son because of his inheritance from the Original Sentience, Origin. He must be protected at all costs, and when the time is right, he must be brought to me. I will be waiting in Daath._

_Yuri Lowell… My son. Be safe._

* * *

Notes:

1. If you haven't noticed yet, this is AU. Vesperia characters are merged into this.

2. Due to my lack of Vesperian knowledge, the Ilyccia continent is the only place from Vesperia that has merged with Auldrant. It is located just south of the Belkend area.

3. Don't ask why I'm making a fan-fiction out of a game I've never played. Who doesn't do that these days? *shot*

4. Those Vesperia players, I punned on a mystic arte of a certain character's in the beginning of the chapter. If you can spot it, you win virtual money! Huzzah!

Anyways, many thanks to reviews, favorites and follows of this story, if there'll be any. Constructive criticism shall be praised. Flames shall be used to fuel my lamp of imagination.

Edited as of June 11, 2013.


	2. Threnody and Ire

Thanks for all the favorites, follows, hits and views of this. You all are so awesome. I've been graced with three reviews, too. Thank you _Yue Twili_ (your username is so familiar), _Guest#1_ and _xxXTheFallenXxx_ for your kindly reviews / comments. I appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Tales of the Abyss_ and/or _Tales of Vesperia_ or their characters; just this fan-fiction plot. I forgot to put that in the first chapter. My bad.

* * *

Threnody and Ire

Chapter 2

"_ND 1996, a boy of royal blood shall be born in the Malkuth nation's land of Hod on the month of Ifrit-Decan. He shall be born with hair of the brilliant sun, and eyes azure of the sky. His name shall be, "the loyal chrysanthemum of unity" and bring his family into peace." _

-x-x-x-

**ND 1996 — ****Ifrit-Decan,** Loreleiday 41st

~Hod, the Flourishing Isle of Fortune~

-x-x-x-

"Lady Eugenie! He…he's beautiful."

A woman with pale-blonde hair, which was strung down to her backside, with warm, auburn eyes smiled once she had a crying, wrapped bundle in her arms. The infant was wailing, but that was to say, naturally all babies would once born. The beautiful gift of life was cradled in its mother's tender, caring embrace, and soon enough, was lulled to sleep by the humming of her gentle voice. After the pain of labor was over, she was greeted with a Scorer from Daath, who had read to her from a fonstone of her child's birth. The lady's maidservants were busying all around, hurrying to take care of the chores and attending to the lady herself as well as the newborn.

Eagerly entering the room was a girl around nine years old hurried in to the woman's left side of the bed. She had straight, blond hair and dark blue eyes, and wore an adorable red and white dress and matching shoes. She also had red and white ribbon adorning her hair, which was tied in a single ponytail. "M-Mother," The young girl chirped happily as she saw the bundle the other blonde was holding. "Is…Is that…?" Her eyes went wide with excitement.

"Yes, Maribelle. This is your brother, Gailardia." The woman, Eugenie, said with a graceful, elegant smile on her face. "Come have a closer look, honey."

Maribelle, the girl by name, but mostly comfortable being called simply "Mary", beamed as bright as the fonstones in the room lighting it. She climbed onto the bed—carefully and quickly—and sat beside her mother. When her dark blue eyes found the face of the bundle, she had to hold in her giddy cheer. What she saw was a soft, beautiful babe with the tenderest complexion of skin that nearly matched hers. The small, stringy waves of pale-blond hair sculpted his dome. His plush-looking, rosy cheeks were tinted with a shade of pink she recognized as a flush. It seemed he had just calmed down from the screaming he had done a while ago and now was relaxing to the song the mother began humming again. She knew it would be awhile until he opened his eyes, but the girl knew they would be beautiful and blue like hers. Maybe a shade lighter, like the Score predicted he would have.

"Gailardia…my very own baby brother. I-I'm so happy, Mother!" Mary said as she gently stroked the babe's head.

"I'm so glad, Maribelle. Will you help me take care of him?"

"Y-yes! I will, Mother. I'll be the best big sister he ever had!"

Eugenie chuckled proudly at her daughter's response. "I'm very sure he will be happy about that."

"And so will Father! I overheard the maids saying he was on his way here. Oh, I can't wait for him to come!"

Her mother smiled again as she continued rocking the sleeping infant. "Of course he will. Mary, dear, can you bring Cantabile and Vandesdelca here?" The blonde-haired girl blinked curiously at her mother's request but smiled nonetheless. Her best friends were just as excited to hear about her sibling's birth and wanted to know how everything went. Since they couldn't be excused to leave school lessons, Mary was pardoned to leave early so she could be with her mother. Nodding to as her positive answer, Mary climbed off the bed and rushed out of the room, thundering through the mansion with glee in every step. She bumped into her personal maidservant, Sonia, along the way and excitedly asked her to come with. She just had to get to her friends quickly! Mary, and Sonia behind her, nearly bumped into several maids on their way down and through the large home, but they successfully made it outside—as many Malkuth soldiers bowed to her—Mary—in respect once they exited—and bound their way towards a familiar route.

The schoolhouse wasn't far and not really out of the way, either. It stood out like a sore thumb, but what else stood out like a sore thumb was a young boy just around six, possibly going on seven years old soon, with short, rusty, tan-brown hair, a tan complexion and beautiful blue eyes holding a wooden, practice sword in both of his hands. He was wearing a cream jumpsuit, though underneath it were padding for protection. Standing on the opposite side of him was a girl around eight years old, with short, dark violet hair with bangs that covered partially over her left eye. She had eyes the color of copper-gold, which were, needless to say, very beautiful. She, too, was adorned in a similar jumpsuit with padding as her fellow student and equipped with a wooden sword. A man with ear length platinum-blond hair, cerulean blue eyes and wearing a taupe-colored shirt, black slacks and leather gloves was standing referee over the two. He sported glasses on his face and simple sandals.

Standing off to the side was a teenager around fifteen years old, wearing a simple maroon-red jacket and wore that over a white shirt he had underneath. He had matching pants, shoes on his feet, and had short, silvery-white hair. His bangs were parted evenly and some of his hair naturally struck out towards the bottom of his dome. His eyes were a deep shade of auburn and a comfortable grin was worn on his features. With the sun still overhead but turning a shade of orange in the sky, Mary and Sonia hurried over to the small gathering of people they knew.

"I believe that is enough for today, you two." The man with glasses said as the two children holding the wooden swords ceased clashing. "Cantabile, Vandesdelca, you two are dismissed for the day."

"Ah, yes!" The girl with violet hair chirped happily. "That means we can go see Lady Eugenie and her new baby, Van."

"Yeah, I've been waiting since Mary left school earlier. I hope it's a boy." The tan-haired boy replied eagerly.

"I hope it's a girl. That way Mary and I have someone to play with!"

"There are already two of you, though. If it's a boy, then _I'll_ have someone to play with." Van said as he was taking off his jumpsuit, revealing his earlier outfit underneath. Cantabile, the other girl, was doing the same. They put their practice swords on top of the jumpsuits and by then, a familiar blonde-haired girl was running towards them, a leap in her step.

"Cantabile! Van!" Mary squeaked excitedly, unable to contain it. The two friends turned simultaneously to greet the blonde, a huge grin on both of their faces. Sonia stayed off to the side, but only smiled when the friends came over eagerly at the sounds of their names. Mary had once stated she included her in the group of friends, but Sonia reminded her that she was only there to serve her, although she didn't mind being friendly with the young lady of the house.

"Mary!" they both beamed, a small, group hug between the three was in order.

"You two, you must come to the mansion. My mother has summoned for you both." The nine-year-old blonde said, still smiling. "She wishes for you to see the baby!"

"U-us?" Cantabile gasped a little, surprised. She knew some reason why though. She and Van were very close friends of Mary, the daughter of Count Zygmunt Bizan Gardios. Van's family, the Fende family, was bound to the House of Gardios and Cantabile's family had – thirteen years ago – been employed into the Gardios household. Since then, hers and Van's families have somewhat intertwined with one another, making them as close as siblings as possible while working within the Count's home. Since she and Van were so young, they were treated more like friends than servants towards Mary and her now sibling. Still, they would perform duties fulfilling to that of servitude, but not many until they were a little older. "But, we're only your servants, Mary."

The girl by name shook her head. "No, you're not to me and Mother. You're my friends and I shall treat you that way no matter what. Come on, let's go!" Not missing a beat, the four friends eagerly rushed back to the mansion, now with soldiers escorting them back. Once they were gone, the man with glasses, having watched the reunion and reactions of the children not long ago, smiled as he approached the teenager who had also seen them.

"Have you thought about where you will be going off to Alexei?" The man questioned him. It was no surprise to the white-blond.

"I have, Pere, I have." The teen by name said with an impassive expression. "I plan to travel to the Ilccyian continent soon and become a knight of Zaphias. That's something I've always wanted to do when growing up." He stopped for a bit to allow the older man to absorb the words. "Now that I'm older and stronger, I'll definitely climb the ranks and see that this world is changed for the better."

-x-x-x-

**ND 2002**

The Fall of Hod

-x-x-x-

"Run! Everyone run! Run!"

_ND 2002, The One Who Would Seize Glory shall destroy the land upon which he was born. A land by the name of Hod. War shall thereafter persist between Kimlasca and Malkuth Empire for a full cycle of seasons. _

Hod was in total, utter chaos. This year, it was predicted; the fall of the island of Hod, and by a young lad of no choice. Vandesdelca Musto Fende, only eleven years old, had been taken—probably abducted, but no one knew for sure—and led to a place where no man should have gone. Against his own will, he was strapped to a fonic device by researchers of Hod because of his affinity to fonic artes, and had been forced to create an artificial hyperresonance, which outright destroyed the pillar—the Sephiroth—keeping the island floating above the forbidden grudge of mud, sludge and toxin—the miasma. But, of course, he didn't know this. Nobody was there to help him; nobody would be there to save him. All except one, who had snuck around and followed those so-called researchers and watched from a distance. As the isle had begun to fall to its predicted death, many citizens of Hod had suffered under the poison or the inevitable collapse of the crumbling ground.

Cantabile had saved Van from the wrongs of the research, but suffered losing one of her eyes in the process as glass and sharp objects had impeded her way. The two children had hurried through the collapsing Hod in desperate search of their parents, Van especially. His mother was due with his unborn sibling, and if he lost her…no, no he couldn't think of that. He had to find her, Mary, Gailardia and Sonia. They were the only ones that mattered and were missing from their usual group. He had to believe they were alive, that they would at least make it. This entire tragedy happened because of…what? He knew Kimlascans attacked Hod but they began evacuating quickly once they noticed the land falling. Did they plan this? Did they plan on causing more destruction than what he had done?

Van's thoughts were interrupted when he heard his name and people he recognized were running towards him.

Pere, one of the school's mentors who had been educating Gailardia and Mary in their sword teachings of the Sigmund Style. Not only that, but one of his older friends, the Lieutenant-Colonel Alexei Dinoia was carrying a young woman in his arms and the two children easily recognized her. It was his mother. Pere, too, was carrying someone and he and Cantabile recognized it was his friend and sworn liege Gailardia, however, he was unconscious. Beside them were Sonia and Mary, both injured and bloodied, but alive. They were alive, all of them. But, why was the Lt. Colonel here? Did…did he know about the downfall of Hod and tried to help? Now that they were here, what would they do now? The land was collapsing and at an unspeakable speed. At this rate, their survival of Kimlascans attacking their fare city and Van's unwilling cooperation in causing a hyperresonance would have been for nothing. But…what now? What could be done before they were doomed to meet their end?

Van's panicking mind snapped open as he realized something.

The songs his mother used to sing to him when he was younger. The hymns of Yulia had a strange, mystical and yet, comforting power hidden in them if the person singing them knew the melody and the meaning behind them. As a descendant of Yulia himself and having been taught the songs and the understanding of them, he could use them! He would have to act fast if he wanted to save whoever he could. "Everyone, gather around me!" the young tan-haired preteen commanded with authority, standing in the middle of them all. Without a second thought, the small band of Hod's citizenry stayed close to Van, knowing the boy thought of something.

"_Kuroa ryuo zue toue ryuo rei neu ryuo zue…"_

The melody escaped his lips in perfect rhythm, and as they did, an encasing sphere of light surrounded them like a huge bubble, allowing them to descend slowly with the ground they stood on as support falling from under them. As they continued their slow descent, they could only watch in horror as the once glorious harmonious, glorious island they once knew fell before their very eyes. Countless people's cries were heard, and yet, they could do nothing but watch. Why did this have to happen? Why did it happen? Whoever knew this would happen, why didn't they put a stop to this? With those thoughts on mind, Van could barely see what appeared to be a city…underneath the land? Wait, what was this place? It was dark, gloomy, and eerie and it felt dead. There was no other explanation to this other than that. How on earth could people live…here? Curious as all, Van, still controlling the hymn's might with his voice, allowed their descent towards the city-place, hoping they could find some help…_anything_…

-x-x-x-

"Ungh…" A young boy croaked as he seemingly woke up.

"…You're awake." Another boy's voice said softly as blue eyes gazed into a pair similar to his own. "I'm glad, Gailardia."

The young Malkuth noble, only six years old, sat up in a bed unfamiliar to him. His azure irises gazed around the strange place, noticing how empty the atmosphere was. Where was this? How did he get here? Oh wait, no! What happened to his home?! "V-Van?" The boy tried, looking at his brother-like servant. Vandesdelca smiled warmly at his young charge, and watched as Gailardia appeared confused and stunned. It was natural, seeing as waking up in a place that wasn't your home.

"Van, what happened? Where is this? Where are my mommy and daddy? A-and Mary?" The blond's voice squeaked as he asked his rounds of questions. The only one he knew here was his best friend, who treated him like a brother more than a master and servant relationship.

"Gailardia… I'm sorry to say this… but your mother and father are…dead." Van knew he shouldn't have said this, knowing Gailardia was just a child, but he knew the boy would understand.

And understood, he did, as the reaction the blond made was evident enough. Tears were streaming down his face when the news of his parents reached his ears. How? How did they die? No, wait. He…he knew! It was a man with dark, red hair and his guard of soldiers that did this to them, that hurt them! That man was obviously from Kimlasca, and he outright slew his family, right in front of him! He remembered screaming their names, wondering why they weren't moving, and then… …Mary! His sister came in, defending as much as she could with her fonic artes, grabbed him and ran throughout the mansion. The soldiers were in hot pursuit of them, chasing after them like prison escapees. When they finally caught up, they were cornered in a single room. Mary had hidden him in the unused fireplace as maidservants and Mary herself was using their own selves as a shield to protect him. Why! Why did they do it!? But, those last words he heard Mary say…

_"You must live, Gailardia. You must survive."_

No, no. Mary, no. He couldn't bear to lose her. No, it can't be! More tears streamed down the blond's cheeks, coupled with an overflowing nose of snot and his tiny voice garbled. "V-Van! …M-my sister, Mary. Where…where is Mary!?"

At first, Gailardia was met with a face of dread from his brother-like friend. No, it couldn't be that Mary was slain, too? He couldn't remember if she was or not. All he remembered were the maids and her surrounding the fireplace where he was placed in and overheard cries of pain and seeing blood splatter everywhere. His little heart thumped rapidly against his chest as his memory wouldn't complete the entire thing, until moments after, he was found by his teacher, Pere and the man Alexei. Everything after blacked out or was…just missing completely. But, he was so _scared_ to remember it. The very thought of the screams were causing him to panic and stir uncontrollably. But, he had to know if his sister was with him or not. He couldn't bear the loss any long. "Please! Van! Please, sh-she can't be… M-Mary… she… my sister…!" The blond grabbed the tan-haired boy's tattered sleeve, desperately begging for an answer.

Why was Van not answering him!?

"…Gailardia, Mary is…"

"No, no she has to be… she has to be—!"

"She is still with us, Gailardia."

The male noble of Gardios stared incredulously at his best friend before allowing his words to fully sink in. His…sister was still alive! She was still with him?! But, where? Where is she? If she was still with him, then why wasn't she right beside him like she normally would be when he would cry? Where was she to comfort him? Where? He wanted her so badly! He needed her! Right now!

"Where is she? Mary? Mary!" Gailardia called out as he struggled to get out, only to be held back by Van. Why was he doing this? Why was he keeping him confined in one spot! "Van! Let me go! I have to see Mary!"

The tan-haired preteen shook his head, patting the noble's head comfortingly. "No, Gailardia. Listen to me." When he was sure he had the weeping boy's attention, he continued. "Mary, Sonia and Cantabile survived too. But, Mary, your sister and Sonia, her maidservant, were badly injured and had to be sent away to be treated for their wounds. They couldn't stay here, but don't worry." He hugged the boy tightly. "You'll see her again, I promise."

Gailardia sniffed and hiccupped, burrowing his little head into the chest of his best friend. "V-Van. I-I-I miss her already. I…I want to see her. M-Mary…"

"It's okay, Gailardia. You will see her. I will make sure you do. But…there is something I need from you."

The blond-haired monarch blinked as his young, blue eyes looked up to stare curiously into the ones of the Yulia's descendant. Van needed something from him? It was usually the other way around, but given that he was still just a child, all Gailardia needed was love and attention. He got plenty when he was with his family and friends. But, that was all gone now. It was destroyed, shattered, and what was left of the happy, bouncy and joyful bundle of blond was a sorrowful, hurt, pained and crushed child. He could long for the days of the old to return, but they would not be coming back. He knew they wouldn't, but his naivety and gut told them he would just need to wait and his parents would be all right. He was just a child, after all…

"What… What do you… need me for Van?"

"Gailardia… I want to do something about this. Our home island is gone and your parents are gone, too. My father was killed, the citizens of Hod were killed in the destruction of it all." Van began, his voice becoming cold as ice. "I want… revenge."

"…R-revenge? What is… What is that?"

Van looked down at his young charge with softened expression. "It means we can get back at the people who made us suffer; they who took our loved ones away from us. We need to hurt them just like they hurt us. I want you to help me, Gailardia. I want to make them pay for hurting you especially. But, I can't do it alone. Together, we can do this, but only if you help me." Sniffling, the blond boy stared at his friend, absorbing the other boy's explanation like a sponge. Getting back at the people who hurt him? That didn't sound nice. Wasn't it wrong to take vengeance against people? But, they did hurt him. They came from nowhere and killed everyone he loved dearly. They didn't have any sort of remorse for them when committing the act so why should he? Finally understanding his servant's words, Gailardia's once soft eyes began to harden as much as a six-year-old could.

"Van, I wanna help you. I want t-to get back at those people who hurt my mommy and daddy and yours, too. I want to do something to help you, Van. Y-you help me so many times. I-I should help you, too." Gailardia replied finally, a frown etching on his little face. He was a crying mess, his face was tinted red, evidence he had been crying for a long time. When he saw his friend's smile, the boy knew he made the right choice. If Van smiled, that meant he was happy. He wanted to make his best friend happy.

"Gailardia, thank you. When you get older, I will tell you more of our plan with Cantabile too, okay?"

The noble nodded. "O-okay… But Van? How can I help you? I'm… I'm too small."

"No, there is a way you can help me, Gailardia." Van assured the boy, placing a hand on his shoulder. Glinting with some hope, the Gardios boy sparked up with interest, wondering.

"How Van?"

Smiling, the tan-haired boy replied simply with, "By using fomicry."

-x-x-x-

**ND 2006 - Shadow Redecan, Lunaday 19th**

Four years later…

~Baticul, the Capital of Light – Kimlasca-Lanvaldear~

-x-x-x-

It had been some time since the boy had been to this city, but it was only because he had to come. His guardian was a captain in the knight guard of the Illccyian-Kimlasca Unit, as well as apart of the Royal Guard of Zaphias, and as such, he would simply have to come along. But, he had hidden well with the crowd and found a way to ditch the ship that led back to the imperial city of the Illccyian continent. Ever since his foster parents passed away three years ago, the boy had lived on the streets, stealing whatever he could find, especially for his dog. But, living with the guardian wasn't so easy; the boy was rowdy, unpredictable, and loved to play outside. He was also rude, dropping sarcastic comments when he could, never apologizing, and really, just an uppity child. His hair had since been cut to be tamed at a reasonable length since said guardian of his said "boys shouldn't grow their hair out that long!" and demanded to get it cut. His dark black hair was reasonably at neck length, his moderately long bangs sweeping across his face naturally, some hanging down to cup his face and ears and strangely enough, hummed a violet-purple hue somehow. His eyes were as stone of a grey tint as they could be, and his fair complexion made him easy to spot. He wore a simple long sleeve black shirt with a dark grey button vest, similar shaded pants and shoes on his feet. Lastly, strapped to his left was a small sheath which housed a small sword in it. Of course, it was only a machete—a sword used in chores, but he carried it proudly. His puppy, well, he wasn't much of a puppy now, being the size of an adolescent dog, had a decent ruby collar around his neck with a simple name tag on it.

The boy had named him personally and enjoyed the name, too. It suited the dog, truthfully told. The canine had matured in over the years, but in comparison, he and the young boy were just around the same age in their own way: ten years old.

"Finally got away from that old man…" the dark-haired boy said with a light cackle as he and the dog made their way through the bustling capital city. "They'll be coming back within a few weeks to notice we aren't there." The dog simply barked in response, almost happily. If anything, getting away from the watching eyes of their companions—father in the dog's case—was good enough for them. Seriously, a break now and then would have been fine. "Let's see what we can find, Repede!" The blue-furred lupine's next reply was a chirpy bark again and the two dashed around the streets, watching out for people—and still clumsily ramming into them accidentally. The ten-year-old and his dog watched some street performers called the Black Troupe perform for kids of a younger audience, but the sight of them doing something silly caught his attention.

Growing bored of that within the next few minutes, the two eventually paraded down some stairs repeatedly, "racing" one could call it. The boy thought he could out-speed his pet, but that was proven incorrect several times. After calming down beside the stairway leading to the middle-quarter of the lower quarters of the city, the boy managed to purchase a few sandwiches with his allowance he had on him, giving the extra meat to his dog as they ran around a few corners to hide in the alleyways. Perfect to have some peace and quiet from all the hustle and bustle! "Mm! Ham and cheese are my favorites!" the boy hummed as he took a chomp out of the sandwich, smacking greedily as he chewed. Repede, the dog, deliciously tore through the meat he was given. He knew his young master didn't always like how they packed extra meat on any of his sandwiches, especially given when the boy himself didn't do that when he made them. So, it was always nice to be treated with human food every once in a while.

Just as the boy was finishing his sandwich, he heard something fall; trash can lids. What on earth? "What was that?" He wondered, blinking curiously as he rose from his spot. The blue-furred lupine also rose, though crouched down low and began growling. "Huh? What is it, Repede?"

The dog simply barked, keeping his ground. Though it was a warning bark, he still found his idiot human to wander away and towards the source of the noise. If Repede were a human, he would have slapped the dark-haired child. Unfortunately, the world was not so generous so he opted to grab his young master by his pants and tug him backwards from the imposing danger he sensed. This seemed to garner the necessary attention, though the dog couldn't say if it was good or bad. "Repede? Hey! Let go! I just wanna see what's over there!" The ten-year-old grumbled, trying to free his pants from his dog's mouth, to no avail after awhile. "Come on… pleeeeease?"

The dog grunted as if to say "hmph" before letting him go eventually. Still, he paced by the boy's side and kept his light blue eyes peeled open and his ears twitching to hear anything suspicious. Sounds of shuffling and someone moaning made it to his ears. His human also caught onto the noises and quickened his pace. Repede sometimes wondered if his human was a daredevil when he often explored dark, creepy places or areas that housed strange noises on purpose. Still…perhaps it was just a rat or something that was deemed harmless. Baticul was, in fact, protected by a Blastia core—some fontech creation from way back in the Dawn Age, though the dog and child couldn't really care anyhow—and kept monsters out. Really, monsters were getting fierce lately…

Anyhow, the dark-haired ten-year-old eventually stopped when he spotted the source of the noise…

It was…a boy. He seemed a little timid, but maybe that was because of the huge blanket he had over his body. He seemed like he had a hard time standing, given the crooked position of his legs and feet. He had small scrapes over his face, evidence that he may've been hurt by something. Underneath his shielding blanket was an oversized cream shirt, fitting tan pants that were torn and tattered in various places on the legs and he was barefooted. His hair was bright, brilliantly blond like the sun and short like his, the dark-haired boy guessed. Really, who has bright hair like that even in dark areas of cities? And there was no sun around here, either. Well, barely. And, from what the boy could tell, the timid one had soft, azure eyes, like the color of the sky. Wow, those were…kind of pretty.

Deciding the child wasn't a threat, Repede's back fur settled down as well as his growling. His human smiled and deduced he should go introduce himself to a fellow orphan. Really, technically speaking, he still was an orphan. "Hi! What are you doing?" The dark-haired boy called over to the blond one. The reaction he got was expected, but nothing like what he witnessed. The blond gasped loudly, dropping the trash can lid he was holding and then…fell down backwards because of his incorrect footing, and the blanket upon him fell off his shoulders. Just like the black-haired boy thought, the blond had blue eyes, which rounded on the boy who had spoken. His body trembled visibly and he couldn't find the words to speak. Curious, the boy in black clothes grinned and carefully approached the other boy.

"My name's Yuri! Yuri Lowell! What's yours?" He said as he knelt down and offered a hand to help the blond boy stand. The timid child stayed down, looking at the offered hand, and then tried to process the words that this Yuri boy said to him. Now, what was that again? His blue eyes fixed on the dark-haired child's grey ones, trying to figure him out as if he were some strange puzzle, but in fact, was trying to get this new name in his mind and maybe, maybe do something with it. Do what with it, though? "Uh…hello? Aren't you gonna answer?" Yuri said again, frowning. Did this kid even have a clue what he was saying?

For a moment, Yuri thought the blond wasn't capable of speech, given the kid hadn't said anything. That or he didn't feel like speaking. That was understandable, given he had outright spooked the pants off him. But, something deep down in his gut told him to wait a little longer and maybe he would say something. Anything, even if it happened to be a swear word.

And then it came. "Y-Y-Yuuuuureeeeee?" the other boy tried to say the name, drawing out the words unnecessarily and chopped. Yuri laughed lightly at the strange pronunciation of his name, but had to admit, if this kid wasn't capable of speech and this was his first time, it was a damn good try.

"Yeah! C-Close enough! But say it like this: YU-RI." He instructed. The other boy seemed confused by the miniature lesson he seemed to be getting but tried again.

"Yuuuree." He said, not really drawing out the long "i-sounding-like-an-e" vowel.

"…Yeah, just stick with that…" Yuri chuckled. Man, this was weird. "I guess you don't know the Fonic language, huh?"

"Faaanik?" the blond tried saying "fonic", and obviously failing. Yuri and Repede simply sweatdropped at the attempt. The dark-haired boy couldn't get over how cute the other looked and his fumbling over words was unnaturally funny and adorable. Wait, adorable? Guess it was, then.

"Yeah. Fonic language. Anyway, do you know your name?"

"N-N…N…Na…?"

"N-A-M-E. Name." Yuri repeated slowly.

The blond boy just stared at him quizzically, trying to figure out the word but failing. His concentrated face consisted of it being scrunched up and Yuri had to resist laughing. But, that look he was witnessing was easy to notice; the kid simply couldn't remember it or worse, he didn't have one. "You don't have a name, do you?" The blue-eyed child stopped thinking of how to pronounce "name" and glanced up at the speaker again, tilting his head. The dark-haired boy grinned. "Don't worry! I'll just give you a new one!" Pondering a moment, Yuri browsed through the random list of names he magically pulled up from nowhere. "Huh, I'd name you something awesome in Ancient Ispanian but my Ancient Ispanian knowledge isn't really that good, so maybe just a name that…seems cool then and fitting."

Mentally, he searched for the right one, knowing Repede and the boy were watching him intently. _Hm let's see. Robert? Nah, that's too boring. Garland? Nah, he's no flower. LeRoy Jenkins—wait, where the heck did I get that from? Ah who cares. Um…_ Yuri stood up to his full height of four foot six inches, tapping his foot rather impatiently as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. _Christopher? No. Theodore? No, not really good. Mathew? Uh, nah. …Oh, oh!_ The black-garbed ten-year-old smiled when his eyes met the blue-eyes of the blond's. "I know! Your name can be Flynn!"

Repede blinked and the other boy just stared at him some more as Yuri jabbed a finger at him, grinning wide. "Yeah! I like the sound of that name! You look like a Flynn to me. …Of course I'll have to recall my Ancient Ispanian studies sometime later to figure out if that means anything, but that can wait." Yuri squatted down to meet the blond's face, smiling. "Try out your new name, Flynn! Say it! F-U-LUH-EN! Flynn!" He pronounced slowly.

Now, he had to play the waiting game to see if the other could pronounce it just as he had. A moment seemingly passed with no luck, though the blond was attempting to register the new word into his memory and vocabulary. "F-F-Fu-Fu…" He began trying, getting Yuri's hopes up. Those grey eyes beamed happily at the shy child, smiling wide when he was at the second syllable. _Come on, you can do it! Come on Flynn! Say your name!_

"Fu-Fulah-Fulah…in."

Yuri's grinning face instantly melted into a straight line, but couldn't resist chuckling. The boy seemed to be trying his absolute best. "C-Close enough, Flynn." He praised the other child, now helping him stand. "I'll keep helping you with it." He steadied the blond to his feet, noticing his crooked stance once again. "I think I should show you how to stand up better first. You got it all wrong… But you look hungry." Flynn, even though he couldn't say anything yet, appeared to have understood the word "hungry". His bright blue eyes bored a hole through Yuri's soul—well it seemed like it—and the dark-haired child seemingly understood the glance. It was official; Flynn was hungry.

"Well, I guess body gestures will work, too." He noted before getting an idea. He took out an unwrapped sandwich in plastic that he was going to save for later and offered it to Flynn. "Here, take this, Flynn!" Yuri said with a brimming smile. At first the blond didn't take it which prompted Yuri how to show him. Ah, this was getting quite tedious and fun. "Like this," he began, helping Flynn grab the sandwich and bring it to his mouth. "Then open your mouth," Flynn understood this "command" and did so. He took a bite on his own and chewed slowly. He seemed to like the sandwich as he repeated the same 'steps', his blue eyes watching Yuri for any 'approval' of his actions. The smile the black-garbed boy wore on his face assured Flynn of his success. Perhaps he should stay with Yuri. He was being so helpful, so kind, and maybe he could learn more things. He didn't know where else to go, truthfully.

"Good Flynn! By the way," Yuri directed his attention to his trusted canine companion. "This is Repede, my dog. Say hi, Repede!"

The blue-furred dog simply wagged his tail as he sat down beside his master, grinning in a way dog's could. Flynn stopped eating out of his sandwich to notice the dog—most likely for the first time since he only had his eyes on Yuri the entire time. His first reaction was quite normal; fear lacing in his eyes. Yuri quickly mended the situation. "Flynn! It's okay! Repede won't bite or hurt you. Show him, Repede. And be gentle!"

Obeying, the blue coated lupine slowly made his way towards Flynn who at first backed up, froze and would have tumbled down on his rear if Repede hadn't been quick enough to catch him with his teeth. The wolf-like pet gently pulled the clumsy child back to his feet as properly as he could manage then brushed his head under the boy's opened hand, putting his ears back to further show he as safe. If anything, gestures should be the kid's forte. Thankfully for Repede, it worked. Flynn's heartbeat stopped accelerating at panic speeds and began slowing down, the boy's hand slowly making its way on his head. Repede was expecting to be petted but seeing as it was this human's first time showing affection and even touching him, he'd let this slide. "See? Repede's not scary. He's friendly. He's a dog." Yuri said as he stepped forward and scratched his trusted dog under the ears. The azure-coated lupine responded with wagging his tail, happy to have finally be getting his 'well deserved' attention.

"R-Re-peed?" Flynn managed. Yuri shrugged mentally—it was as good as he'd get for now.

"Yeah, Repede." He repeated, smiling. A thought crossed his mind as he continually petted Repede and Flynn taking much interest into the creature, now embedding him into his memory possibly. Where would Flynn go to when Yuri left? Who would teach him how to do things? Who would even care? As how he saw it, nobles were stuck up prissy men and women who only look out for themselves and treat the poor people like dirt. He used to live in the lower quarters of Zaphias when he was younger, and couldn't believe his eyes when nobody helped them out. It was, dare he say, infuriating. A pang of guilt struck through Yuri's conscience and heart. No, he couldn't leave Flynn here by himself. Sure, he was just a kid, but he had some money. They could survive a few weeks on that for food…right? Right. And if he ran out, he'd just steal it. Flynn was becoming more and more important to him, like a little brother. Yeah! That's it! He could adopt him like a brother! No, he _would_ be his little brother.

"Hey, Flynn!" Yuri finally said, breaking from his thoughts. The boy with the tattered attire had been nibbling on his sandwich and it pleased Yuri he responded to the name. Good, he was getting used to it. "From now on, you're gonna be my brother, my little brother! But you can't have the Lowell name, because Flynn Lowell sounds weird." The boy tapped his chin thoughtfully again, humming randomly as he searched through the list of random names again. _I wish I had my Ancient Ispanian book with me. But oh well, it can't be helped._ He thought as he continued pondering. Something good had to go with the name 'Flynn'. Something that started with…a C. No, wait not a C, maybe an F? But, his first name was already an F-name. Hn, how about a Y? Bleh, that would look weird, considering his name began with a Y. So, he scrolled through the fonic alphabet until one in particular strung him on a good cord.

The letter S.

Now to randomly start naming things off that began with the letter S or names he remembered seeing; Sandwich? Wait, why would he name him after food? Safi? Solomon? Hm, that sounded good, but no, not quite. Samuel? Eh, nope. Santos? Hm, nah that didn't bode well. Sean? Sebastian? Severus? Sigvurd? Spiridon? Stanley? Stephan? Sc—something! Wait. The letters "Sc" sounded quite fun, like "Scott". Now what else could be there? S-C-A? No, looked too ugly. How about S-C-U…no. S-C-O…nope. S-C-E? Erm, not really that great. _Come on Yuri, think! Think! There's gotta be a name in there somewhere. Make it up or something! S-C-I-hn, that sounds pretty cool. Maybe…maybe that F I wanted to be in his last name could be there. So, maybe S-C-I-F. Yeah, yeah, and, and then… O! S-C-I-F-O! That's absolutely cool sounding!_ He beamed. He figured out something! But then it suddenly dropped when he realized it.

"How the heck do you say S-C-I-F-O? Scifo. S-eye-fo? Maybe that C is silent…" He pondered, grinning a little. "Let me try it… Flynn Scifo."

"Flynn…"

Yuri looked up to notice that the blond had spoken, albeit softly, but hadn't in such a long while, Yuri thought he was dead. But, the jittery feeling he was getting wasn't because of him speaking. It was the name he just said. He had spoken his own name and correctly, too! "Yeah! That's how you say your name, Flynn!" The dark-haired boy laughed happily, watching his now adopted brother shy away. Well, he was certainly the…modest one, hm? Still, it didn't really matter. He would have to take care of him now since nobody else would. Him and Repede would.

"From now on, you'll be Flynn Scifo, brother of Yuri Lowell!"

* * *

1. Yes, I added Cantabile. I was inspired by the story _Reflections_ (Tales of the Abyss) to include her. I also changed some of the story, as you've seen.

2. I apologize if Yuri's kinda out of character, being a kid and all. I tried.

3. I'm not sure if I added First Strike into this or not. I haven't seen it yet, lol.

4. Don't ask why I put LeRoy Jenkins in this. It was random…and I was bored. I needed a laugh.

5. Threnody means "a song of lamentation".

6. Yeah I made up Hod's little title thing and the birth score. There wasn't one so I provided. I took the meaning of 'Gailardia' from the hidden notes in TotA that I found on the web. Unfortunately, I didn't write down the source but I will find it. So, credit and kudos to that person who did that.

So, thanks again for any favorites, follows, reviews and hits for this. I've proof-read this chapter personally, but there could be mistakes lying around in wait. I apologize and have done my best without a beta. Betas…so hard to find.

Edited on 6/10/2013


	3. Crevasse in the Cradlesong

Thanks for the reviews, hits, favorites and follows! This chapter might be somewhat long. Sorry about that. Without further or do! Disclaimer is on the second chapter. Oh, a bit of a warning, there's strong language is in this chapter (That's why it's rated T). Special thanks to my good friend, RoweyCR, for beta-ing most of this chapter for me!

Also, I'll have to edit the first two chapters with correct English translations, and Repede's age. I'm going to say that Repede doesn't follow the common belief of 1 human year is equal to 7 dog years nor the real dog age calculator (10.5 years multiplied by the human age equals the dog age). Repede is going by a Repede calculator, as in, he's 3.5 years younger than Yuri, considering the fact he was only a few weeks old from Chapter 1.

Other than that riff-raff, Enjoy.

Crevasse in the Cradlesong

Chapter 3

-x-x-x-

**ND 2002 – Lorelei Redecan, Undineday, 60th **

-x-x-x-

The fall of the isle of Hod left a young man in a trembling sorrow and spiteful hatred. No, that was an understatement. He was vehemently _horrified _and disgusted at the state of the collapsing isle that was among one of his known residences. He was outrageously disgusted that nobody, not anyone from their own nation, sent people to help. He originally grew up in the Ilyccian continent but moved to Hod when he was ten and spent just two of his years there before returning to Zaphias. He grew accustomed to its—Hod's—daily life, regardless of whether if there were any strife or not. He and his parents did not mind one bit.

Nevertheless, the man knew where his origins lay and therefore had made a self-promise to himself to return to that land and bring fresh fruit of justice; justice this world deserved and was in desperate need of. His training regimen had been coming along nicely, and he would become the Commandant of the Knights of Zaphias, or even more, the Commandant of Daath-Ilyccia's Knight Guard. Because of its independence from Daath, Kimlasca and Malkuth, the Ilyccian continent was required to forge knight guards from the three nations, to establish a form of recognition and peace amongst them. There was a Kimlasca-Ilyccia unit, a Malkuth-Ilyccia unit and a Daath-Ilyccia unit. All three represented the nations' forging of peace, and the knights training under each regimen would have to report to the camps in previously mentioned continent to receive the appropriate training from both nations, under the guidance of instructors from said other nations.

He personally wanted to become the man in charge of the Daath-Ilyccia unit, where he would be most comfortable, considering his origins.

And so, after his training, in the capital city of Ilyccia, Zaphias, during the last emperor's reign, a tournament was being held. It was a tournament of wits and strength. He was the youngest contestant competing and he believed if he won, he would be accepted as an esquire into knighthood and therefore, he would be able to climb the ladder to achieve his goals. He entered and through all the battles, came out successful. Because of his accomplishment and victory, he was accepted into the knights from that point on.

While he had been away from the Ether Lands, he had been in the Other Lands, training and raising his rank, with keeping his promise in his heart. As he continued climbing through the ranks, he encountered interesting information, researching into the world's history; it had once been called Terca Lumeldrant, and the continents had once been one. In Ancient Ispanian, _terca_ meant "surrounding earth" and _lumeldrant_ meant "with light, one connected", which brought the words _terca lumeldrant_ to mean "illumination that surrounds the earth's connection". He also found that Ispanian, the original language, had been found and created by the Geraios Civilization eons ago for easier communication with every race, and eventually, the language was passed down through the generations. However, during the war over two thousand years ago, the lands split apart, having become two separate nations of their own; Terca Lumireis and Auldrant.

Deeply amused in his research, he also found that the Krityans, those in the Geraios Civilization were also the founders of blastia, a technology that was fueled on the component of Aer, and to a much further extent, fonons from the fonbelt.

However, after that time, someone, a Krityan most likely, invented a blastia that was much stronger than all other types, which had been tested to absorb large amounts of aer. The Krityans of the Geraios knew it was dangerous if they were to lose those large quantities of aer. As he researched, he found that an apocalypse the Geraios called the Adephagos, which _adephagos_ in Ancient Ispanian meant "the destroyer of all humanity and life" had been on the verge of awakening; they built a structure called Zaude, the Enduring Shrine. The real reason was left unexplained as to why the Geraios built Zaude however. But, this was enough information the man wanted to learn and kept his knowledge.

However, in ND 1992, on the Ether Lands calendar, in the month of Undine Redecan, a war between an ancient race, the Entelexeia, and the humans who resided in the Other Lands, the continents of Terca Lumireis across the waters of the continents that was now called Auldrant, rose. It was in this very year that he had been promoted to Captain from his original Lieutenant Colonel rank and obtained his own unit to serve into the war.

From the Ether Lands of Auldrant, under the orders of the Fon Master Evenos, Daath had sent Oracle Knights, The Emperor of Malkuth sent his soldiers as well as the Kimlascan king, Ingobert VI, to assist their fellow humans. It all started when the Entelexeia decided to destroy the blastia that had been consuming the world's aer. The Krityans relinquished their blastia, but it was the humans of both Terca Lumireis and Auldrant that wanted to keep and treasure. This sparked the beginning of the Great War that nearly consumed the entire world, mostly in the lands of Terca Lumireis.

However, just a few years within the Great War, he achieved the title of a rank in Daath's military; that of a God-General. However, this was also when he heard about the war raging between Kimlasca and Malkuth—while being in the current war on the Other Lands of Terca Lumireis—with Daath supporting Kimlasca in this stead, he knew something was wrong. He was not in the highest ranks of the Oracle Knights, being a God-General at the time, but he learned of something he should not have…

Hod, in the year of ND 2002, was going to fall.

He did not know how that would be… How could the Score foretell something like that? How did it even begin? Was it the cause of the Great War's rising? How could the leaders of Daath even go along with that? Who would save all those people? What was the Fon Master doing? Most importantly, who would go help them? In the back of his mind, much to his horror, he realized that nobody would, but thought that the current Emperor of the Malkuth Empire would surely try to go save them when it happened. Those were his people after all, so everything should be fine, right? Right.

Wrong.

The world turned its back on the falling isle that was Hod, even from its own empire. He didn't know how it happened, but the land was actually _falling_ down, into the pitch darkness of…the ground under it? How could it have fallen like this? Why was it? Why was one of his cherished residences crumbling? Nevertheless, the more he racked on his thoughts about why, only one plausible answer presented itself and he could not bear to grasp it.

The Score.

The damn, _fucking_ Score predicted this.

Thankfully, the descendant of Yulia saved them with his Fonic Hymns, but the sight of seeing countless people's bodies fall to their inevitable doom was horrifying. The man loathed the Score, having seen what it had done with his own eyes. He realized it caused the death of his parents, of countless people he knew; all because it was prophesized, ironically, by Yulia Jue herself. What was that woman thinking, condemning her own people by predicting their deaths? Did she just outright believe in her own prophecies, even if lives must be lost?

The man scowled deeply, knowing if this were the fate of his current residency, he would have loved to run his blade through that woman—if she had been alive, or at least, put a stop to it. He arrived at Hod moments before the explosion occurred. Not only did Hod's citizens die but Kimlascan soldiers did as well.

He was only a young man now, a Captain for one being in his early twenties. He was getting closer to his original objective he made when he was just a boy of fifteen years. Something about the Score rubbed him the wrong way, and he had a feeling three others of its remaining Hod citizens agreed with him wholeheartedly. The Score needed to be eradicated, and he needed to make plans.

He would do something about that.

Moreover, suddenly as it came, that is when a particularly sinister and cunning idea grabbed his attention. Of course, the Score would predict his chance of achieving his goals. He recalled a reading of the Score a few years ago, stating about the Light of the Sacred Flame being born in Kimlasca, and during the war no less. How intriguing. As much as he favored the idea of misusing the scion of Lorelei's power in his brewing schemes, something else caught his attention. Just before that Score reading, there was something much more interesting:

_ND 1996, in the bedrock city of peace of the land of Ilyccia, a child shall be born, but of poverty. He shall be called, "laborer of the archaic original provenience" and be the scion of the Original One. In the form of the human incarnate shall the Original Sentient, King of all Fonim, cross Auldrant to find its Sacred Light._

The Score foretold the birth of a person who would inherit the power of the Original Sentient as he viewed it. As far as his studies went, there were six fonic elements, each representing the sentient beings, with the seventh being the "newly discovered" one; the first fonic element was of darkness, representing the spiritual being, Shadow. The second was of earth, representing the being Gnome. The third element was wind, representing the being Sylph; the fourth, water, Undine; the fifth, fire, Ifrit; the sixth, light, Rem, and lastly, the seventh, of sound, Lorelei.

Fonists were common among the world, and those who could master all the elements were considered Mages—stronger fonists. However, because the seventh fonon was special, coming by someone who could use it was indeed very rare. He knew the descendants of Yulia could use it, given they, and others out there, were naturally born with it. However, he knew, despite rare-if-ever-told tales and stories of the sentience lain in secrecy, the King of the Aggregate Sentient beings had power over _all_ of them.

Of hearing the foretelling of the Original Sentient was indeed a grand idea. The topic of the Original Sentience hadn't been discussed since two thousand years ago when Yulia Jue walked the earth. It was faintly rumored to be in command of all the elements, no matter what. It was the King, and was indeed, powerful. Its description was hidden in various texts, which were kept secret and shut out of Auldrant's eyes to prevent any disasters from occurring. If this was indeed the truth—of course it was, who was he trying to fool?—then it would prove to be extremely necessary to obtain it.

The King of all Aggregate beings…reincarnated itself, to his current understanding. It was now walking among the mortal realm and interacting with the humans of the world. What a fine coincidence. What was it doing, walking around on this earth? No the question was, what _would_ it do now that it is here? What were its intentions of being around humans? Knowing that the Original Sentient would most likely be a child at this point, he would have to go and find them.

After all, if his Ancient Ispanian was correct, the "laborer of the archaic original provenience" meant "yuri" in the Fonic language. And, in addition to this, he faintly recalled that name floating around the capital city of Ilyccia, Zaphias. Yes, he would find this child, and find them soon. And, that's when an idea, a very cunning, and arguably cruel at its peak of an idea sprouted its seeds of malicious intent through his mind. The Original was a child, and children tend to have emotional attachments with kids their age.

According to the Score readings, the Original would be going into Kimlasca-Lanvaldear territory to 'find' the Scion of Lorelei, which is the Sacred Flame, whom was most likely born. In addition, the Light of the Sacred Flame was born into the royal family, no less because the Score foretold his birth, which would only leave one thing; the Original Sentient would most likely wind up in the Capital of Light.

A mental sneer laced his thoughts as he minded over his plan. Oh, what a _fine_ coincidence this is turning out to be.

Hm, perhaps he could borrow Master Gailardia for a moment…and if things go according to his scheming plan, the Original Sentient would fall naturally into his hands, _willingly_ and by force, if he must. If he had so much to outright mess with the Original Aggregate's mortal emotions in order to control it, then so be it.

Now, all he had to do was set the beginning of his plan into motion…

-x-x-x-

**ND 2006 – Gnome Redecan, Sylphday 20th **

~Zaphias, the Bedrock City of Peace~

Two Months Later

-x-x-x-

_ND 2003, the young Scion of the Original Sentient shall cross the waters to find and awaken the Scion of Lorelei's power in Kimlasca._

He remembered coming to Baticul in that year, just about three years ago. It was on a Loreleiday, in the Rem Decan month. He could not remember the exact date, seeing as he was only six, going on seven, years old at the time, but he vividly remembered coming to the Capital of Light in Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. He was, unfortunately for him, with the Captain of the Nylen Guard of Zaphias' military unit, as he had to attend a meeting with the young Captain Jozette Cecille about an important matter of the Kimlasca-Ilyccia unit. After all, he had a throne of authority over it and the current king of Zaphias at the time allowed it.

It was during the meeting that the boy and his young puppy had decided for themselves to wander around outside the building. He knew he was told to wait, but the boy couldn't resist his exploring urge. His incredibly short, blackish-violet hair made him stand out, since most Kimlascans had a variant shade of brown hair, and most nobles carried the red hair genetics. He remembered wearing a long white-sleeve shirt and a simple V-neck black vest over it, similar shade of shorts and simple matching shoes. His puppy had yet to obtain a collar, but there was no need since he would obediently follow his little master anywhere. They were like a bonded force—no matter where one was; the other would know where to find them.

When he looked around, his bored face suddenly changed to a cocky grin, he noticed there were a few servants heading towards the elevators—most likely going up to the upper quarters—the small child curiously snuck aboard the lift and was taken up with the maid-and-menservants alike. After the lift ride was over, the dark-haired boy and his puppy followed the people and was mesmerized by the sights of the upper quarters. It was really something, being so high up, and looking over the edge, he could see the dots that were the lower and middle quarters. Wow! It was certainly a grand view for one so young. Eager of what to explore next, the six-year-old and his four-legged companion crept past several of the knights stationed around—most were in whitish-silver armor—he followed the line of servants, secretly keeping hidden between them, the curious child marveled at the enormous castle of Baticul that sat towering a mere meters away. The boy slightly smiled when he remembered, closing his eyes for just a moment to relive the moment…

x-x-x

**ND 2003 - Rem Decan, Loreleiday 32nd**

~Baticul, the Capital of Light~  
Memories

x-x-x

_Baticul's castle was really a good walking distance away as soon as he stepped out of the secrecy of the servants. The boy and his dog awed in delight of looming stronghold of the capital. The dark-haired child grinned again, his grey eyes upon the puppy beside him. "This is so cool, Repede! I've never been up here before. Let's go see what else is around here." The young pup barked gleefully in agreement, smiling as much as a canine could. "Come on, this way! We can't let the knights see us or we'll get into a ton of trouble!" The pup's master looked around again, both of them noticing two white-clad soldiers standing guard in front of a fountain filled with pristine water. Standing off to the left guarding the other elevator back down to the middle and lower quarters was another white knight. Another was stationed beside a locked gate, another by what appeared to be a walkway alongside the leftmost by another, smaller—but still quite large for its size—building that was pretty much a short walk from the massive castle. _

_Still supplying his grin and getting over his fascination, the six-year-old petted his dog and faced him. "Repede, I wanna see what's over there," he pointed to the second largest building atop the higher quarter of Baticul, "so make me a distraction or something! And then come find me, okay?" The pup with blue fur and lighter shaded eyes yipped playfully before trotting off towards the single guard standing outside what appeared to be a mansion. The dog's owner snickered, as the other guards hadn't even noticed he or the dog had passed by them. Wow, they must not be very bright or they were simply sleeping, just standing up. '_Weirdoes…'_ he thought to himself as he scurried past the two stationed by the fountain. He quickly hid himself in the nearest bushes, waiting for Repede to 'bring up his act' and distract the knight with his 'too-cute-for-words' puppy eyes. The dark-haired child had to suppress his giggling when the white-clad knight standing outside the manor-place spotted Repede. _

_"Oh? What's a dog like you doing out here? And how did you get up here?" the knight wondered as he looked down at the blue coated lupine. Repede rolled over on his back, wagging his strangely inverted-blade like tail. He was begging for attention. "…Aww, you're so cute… But I must keep to my post." Repede's huge, puppy eyes widened as he feigned a whine for a pet rub. He succeeded seconds later. The knight relented and knelt down. "You're a strange one, you know? Fine, only one rub and then I'll have to get you escorted back to your owner… Wait, you don't seem to have a collar…ah." The knight said, smiling a little as he used one of his fingers to scratch the pup's exposed underbelly. He did sound concerned for Repede's lack of a collar, however. "Whoever they are, they must be lucky to have you, little fella. You're quite friendly. I bet the Young Master would love to have you." _

_As Repede kept the knight distracted with his irresistible adorableness, his owner quietly snuck around them, careful of his movements. He contained his growing eagerness and headed for any direction that possibly led to the building behind the knight. When he was close, he tried the door in but it was locked, unfortunately. That was obvious, though the child wasted no time in pouting in disappointment. While quickly thinking of doing something else, a patch of grass caught the corner of his eyes and he turned towards its direction. It was not just a patch of grass; it was a parted way of grass that led to another opening of something else. Figuring it may be another way into the manor, the dark-haired boy hurried quietly towards the opening he saw. When he approached it, he noticed it was a black fencing, but it was open. Now, which dumb noble decided to leave their gates open? Waiting to be robbed by some thieves, huh? Well, whatever! It was working in his favor and the boy didn't really care. The boy kept taking nervous glances back in the direction from whence he came, making sure the white knight guard whoever didn't see him or if his pet puppy was coming. Neither happened, so that meant the pup was still keeping the knight busy. Good. _

_It had only been a short minute when he had carefully strolled through what he now realized was a garden, which seemed to be behind the manor, when all of a sudden, he heard some gentle ringing sound. At first, he ignored it, thinking he was just imagining it. But, the more steps forward he took after that simple thought, the more the ringing echoed and interrupted his thoughts. That was…odd. Why was he hearing some ringing sounds? Was it some alarm? Did the knights see him? He was sure he had been very quiet! The boy stopped in his tracks, looking around each way in a feverish panic for anyone clad in pearly white armor while he dove for the nearest bushes to hide himself. He scraped a little of his knees in the process, but the dark-haired boy did not care. He looked around again and ducked his head when he felt the alarming sound appearing much closer to him than he thought earlier. It was strange that he heard the ringing noise but did not hear a single clank of somebody in armor come anywhere nearby. When he felt it was safe, the small lad left his abrupt hiding spot, still wondering why he was hearing this strange ringing sound. Where was it coming from!?_

_If that was not enough, the ringing noise only intensified in volume! The boy held his head shortly, believing his eardrums were going to burst anytime soon. He was getting a rather nasty, throbbing headache along with it and he wasn't sure why he was. He knew one thing for sure; his head was throbbing in unmerciful pain as the echoing ringing had transformed into a melodic song in his head, but it was pounding at some mental wall or door that was in his consciousness. There was a door there? Why was something banging at this…metaphorically imagined door in his mind? Whatever it was, every time it did, it would get louder and harder and his head was aching so badly! The boy gripped his head with both of his hands, falling to his knees and shut his eyes, groaning in pain. Why? Why was this happening? What was going on? Why did it _hurt_ so much!? Tears formed in the corner of his eyes, threatening to fall and roll down his face. "A…augh!" the boy groaned irritably. He just wanted to know why he was crumbling down like this over some blasted headache that came from nowhere!_

_Soon, his answer came. '_Original King…You have come._' What? What was that voice? The boy's eyes snapped open when he heard the voice speak…was that directed to him? Moreover, it was so gentle and peaceful that his painful headache subsided the instant it spoke. Woah, that was odd. But, who said that? The dark-haired child let go of his head and, with wide, grey eyes, looked around again for anyone that may have been close by. Nobody was there, except the scenery and nature around him. But, he faintly heard that odd ringing sound in the surrounding area. He carefully tuned it out and noticed that the sound wasn't coming from the outside, but rather on the _inside_ of his head. How was he hearing such things…in his head? _

_He did not have time to ponder as the strange voice spoke again. _'Do not be frightened, my young lord. It is I, Lorelei. I have merely contacted you through your fonslots, which have been closed since your birth. I have merely reopened them.' _The boy simply stared straight forward, confused as heck. Who was this voice? Why was he the only one hearing it? What was this about fonslots? He recalled learning about those; it was how everyone could channel fonons through their bodies when they were using spells called fonic artes. How did this voice open his fonslots then?_ 'You allowed my permission to do so when you grew older in your human body, my king. To synchronize our fonslots together so that we may be able to communicate and therefore…' _The strange voice went on again but stopped suddenly when it seemingly noticed the even more confused child's face and addled emotions. So it was addressing him as this "king"? The boy was sure he wasn't _any_ form of a noble, last time he checked. _

_Finally, after what seemed to be forever, the boy chalked up some form of words. "What…are you talking about? I don't know what you mean." _

'…I see. I must apologize. I believed it was best to contact you as soon as you were old enough in your human form to understand…again. It seems I was gravely mistaken. Perhaps I should wait a few more years.'_ The voice apologized, and seemingly noticed the child was _even more_ baffled than before. He truly did not know what was going on, why it was going on. _'Do not worry, you will know later.'

_"Know? Know…what?" the boy wondered, scratching his head. When the strange masculine voice, called itself Lorelei earlier, said nothing after, the six year old shrugged. That was weird, and, speaking of, didn't he know a Lorelei? Wasn't that the name of the Seventh Fonon? Before he had any more time to ponder again, a round, orange ball rolled right his way and bumped into his feet. It lightly bounced a few centimeters away from the slight impact, but it was enough for the boy to recognize._

_"Huh? What's this?" He looked down, his grey eyes capturing the sight of the orange object. Picking it up, he realized what it was and slightly chuckled to himself. "It's just a ball. So, there's gotta be someone here that's playing with it…" He looked around a bit, spotting nothing but a small, red turf of hair coming along in the wee distance. Who was that? The boy mildly panicked, but stopped as soon as the red turf became a patch of red hair on top of a smaller boy's head. The dark-haired six-year-old blinked in surprise when the younger child approached him, staring at him with shining, emerald green eyes. His hair was ear-length, and his bangs wildly swept to the right of his head, covering a little of his eyebrows. He was wearing a simple, long sleeved cream shirt with black buttons, black shorts, white socks and black shoes. To the taller of them, the other boy looked like a noble's kid. Well, of course. He _was_ living in the upper quarters. _

_However…something about this little kid was awfully familiar. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but it was strange. Why did he seem so familiar? It couldn't have been the hair, could it? No, no it was something… something else. _

_Deciding to brush that eerie disturbance out of his thoughts, the boy smiled and voiced, "Hi, is this your ball?" the dark haired boy asked the smaller boy, who looked about three years old. _

_At first, the toddler didn't answer, but he eventually opened his mouth. "Yes, that ball is mine. Can I have it?" The older boy was taken aback a little. The red head was probably much younger than he was but already, he was speaking as if he was his age. How proper of his parents and tutors; he must have a _wonderful_ time learning at an early age. Must be because he was going to be all high and mighty someday. _

_Seeing no reason to keep the kid's ball, the dark-haired boy smiled lightly and handed it back. "Yeah, here you go." _

_The red-haired toddler took the orange ball back, nodding in approval. "Thank you." He squeaked in his tiny voice, but didn't budge from where he was standing, or rather, staring. His forest green eyes locked onto the grey ones of the older boy, almost in a trance of sorts. For some reason, this older kid seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite figure it out. Was it because of that strange ringing sound that was gently resonating in his ears? Or, was it all in his head? _

_"Agh, that stupid ringing noise is back again." The grey-eyed boy grumbled in frustration, knocking on his head with one of his fists. "Ugh, it's not hurting but it's annoying."_

_"You hear it, too?" The red-head asked, though it sounded more like a statement. "I hear a nice sound in my head…" _

_The older child stopped beating at his head recklessly and stared agape at the auburn. "Wait, what? You hear some ringing bell sound in your head, too?" The other child nodded in understanding. "So, I guess I'm not the only one hearing things now. Wow. Hey, what's your name?" _

_"It's uh… Luke." The toddler provided, blinking in bewilderment. _

_"Oh, that's a good name. Mine's Yuri." The six-year-old replied with a grin. "Hey, Luke. You wanna play with that ball of yours? I bet you get very lonely sometimes." The redhead smiled a bit, nodding in agreement. Yuri chuckled silently, wondering why this noble's kid was lonely. Don't they usually have someone here to play with? Oh well, he wasn't going to complain. Before the two went off to play somewhere else in the…garden, a few puppy chirps resounded in their ears. Yuri looked back and noticed his faithful puppy, Repede, was running up to him. He seemed to have found an exit to escape from distracting the knight earlier and located his master with ease. _

_"Hey, Repede! Good job back there!" Yuri said once the pup was within his range to pet. He turned back to Luke, who was curiously eying the two of them, probably with suspicion. "Don't worry, Luke. Repede won't bite. He's here to play with us. Aren'tcha boy?" The blue-coated canine yipped happily in response, wagging his strangely shaped tail back and forth. The redhead timidly outstretched his hand towards Repede, who sat down, ears back, and allowed the shy hand to brush over his head. The young dog then licked the tiny hand, which Luke withdrew as quickly as a bird snatching its prey. _

_"Hey, Luke, don't be afraid. Repede won't hurt you. He likes being petted all the time!" Yuri laughed reassuringly. _

_"O-oh, he's a good dog." Luke said with a soft grin as he returned his hand back to holding the ball. "I know where we can play, Yuri. You and Repede come with me." _

_"Okay Luke. Lead the way." As the toddler did so, Yuri wondered slightly back to the gentle ringing sound that seemed to 'play' when he was near Luke, the voice that had come with it before, and why. He felt like he was…hearing someone else's thoughts too… Perhaps one day he would figure it out. _

-x-x-x-

**ND 2006 – Gnome Redecan, Sylphday 20th **

Present Time – Zaphias, Lower Quarter

-x-x-x-

He remembered meeting the redhead kid, Luke was his name, that day. As it turned out, the kid's full name was Luke fon Fabre, the son of Duke Crimson Herzog fon Fabre, and the next in line to inherit the throne of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. Well, at least he was right on his money that the kid would be "all high and mighty" someday. As much as he loved to recall happy memories such as that one and the time where he met his proclaimed brother, Flynn, in the alleyways of Baticul, today wasn't such a fine day. In fact, a shy two months after Captain Nylen went to retrieve Yuri from Baticul—the boy refusing to leave Flynn behind—the kind man had been assassinated.

It was a deep shock to everyone, especially to the two boys he had been caring for. The only questions that were burning inside Yuri's mind were "who", "why?" and "for what reason?". Assassinations usually had a reason behind it, but this seemed like total manslaughter for the hell of it. Ten-year-old Yuri Lowell and his brother Flynn Scifo—now orphans—fled from the Middle Quarter of Zaphias, where they had been taken to from Baticul those months ago, and out of the scene of the crime. Yuri knew those idiot soldiers would question them, and that was one reason why he took Flynn and Repede to the Lower Quarter, where they would be safe. He lived there before, so it was not much different this time around.

This situation was beyond terrible. They had no shelter, no food, and no water. They didn't even have a gold coin to spare for table scraps—only identification slips. And this had been going on for a few days since the incident occurred. Not only that, just a simple machete that Yuri continued to carry and for some reason, Repede, his dog, was trying his hands—paws, for that matter—on using human daggers. Strange pup he was, but he was proving capable. All they had were the clothes on their backs; Yuri had on a simple short-sleeved black shirt and an offset black V-neck sweater over that, cream-colored shorts, white socks and black shoes on. Flynn had on a simple long-sleeved cream shirt with a V-neck white sweater on top, tan-brown shorts, creamy white socks and black shoes as well.

While the situation looked bleak, Yuri recalled the kind old man's words when he was seven years old: "If anything should happen to me, head back to Baticul." He honestly didn't want to go back there, but given he was out of options and the fact whoever assassinated the Captain would come after them, he had no choice. Nevertheless, how would he get both Flynn and Repede to the docks in Capua Nor? Actually, how would he get through Deidon Hold, for that fact? The region beyond that gate was insanely dangerous. The monsters were ferocious, even to the point a group of military soldiers wouldn't want to go out there. In comparison to the monsters around Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, the monsters in the Ilccyian continent were five to ten times worse. Not only to add to the bundle of bad news, Flynn was still learning how to walk and Repede was a guard dog-in-training. Yuri himself was still training in swordsmanship.

Getting through Deidon Hold was one thing, but getting through that haunted forest—was it called Quoi Woods?—and then to the port… No, it just…seemed impossible.

"But I have to try…" Yuri told himself, even though he doubted himself. He had to try, at the very least. Flynn and Repede were the only ones he had left now. He couldn't give up on them when they were counting on him, especially Flynn. The young blond was on his way learning the Fonic Language, and he was nowhere near perfect. Surely, he mastered a few words, phrases and a couple of forming sentences, including Yuri's and Repede's names, but he wasn't capable of complete sentences. He was also learning things like the names to different kinds of food and objects. Overall, Yuri just _had_ to try.

"Come on Flynn, Repede. We're going back to Baticul." The ten-year-old dark-haired boy said, looking at both of his companions sternly. Twin pairs of sapphire eyes glanced at him, belonging to the two by name.

"Where we go, Yuri?" Flynn asked in chopped syllables of pronunciation.

"To Baticul," Yuri repeated slowly for the blond-haired boy to understand. "Ba-ti-cul."

"Ba…chi…karu?"

Yuri suppressed a chuckle that naturally would have come out normally when Flynn was trying to pronounce a new word. "Yeah, close enough, Flynn." He helped the younger boy stand up as much as possible, with Repede slowly wagging his tail at his two masters. The dog slightly considered Yuri more of a master than Flynn, but when Yuri was gone for those times he had to be, Flynn would comfort and play with him as much as the boy could. Therefore, he earned the right to be one of his masters. "Why we go, Yuri?" Flynn asked when the grey-eyed boy surveyed the area from around the corner of a building. Yuri's eyes met Flynn's and the older child frowned a little.

"We're running away, Flynn. We can't stay here or the knights will look for us." He explained slowly as possible. Flynn's large blue eyes seemingly widened more than Yuri didn't think they were capable of, and he tilted his head so innocently, it was unbearably cute. Yuri figured this was Flynn's way of letting him know he was processing the words into his mind and figuring out what they meant. The dark-haired boy had to give the blond some credit. He was getting faster at learning, and he was grateful for it.

The blue-eyed boy finally recollected his thoughts and opened his mouth, "We, you, Repede and me, run from knights to get away and go to Bachikaru…again?" came Flynn's squeaky reply in the form of a question.

"Yes, that's right, Flynn." Yuri said with a smile; this was a sign of his approval to Flynn's actions, which the blond found was Yuri's way of accepting them. It was like an "OK" sign for him. If Yuri shook his head and frowned, Flynn knew he was doing wrong and should stop; if Yuri smiled or nodded with a smile, Flynn knew he was doing right and doing a good thing. He always wanted to please Yuri, believing that if he made Yuri happy and approve of his words and actions, that he was always doing the right thing. "We have to go now though, Flynn." The older urged, holding onto his brother's hand tightly. "Don't let go of my hand, okay?"

"I hold on, Yuri." Flynn assured him.

"Good. Come on, Repede. Keep close to me." The dog grunted in response, obeying his young master's words. When the coast was clear, Yuri urged them from behind the corner of the building, keeping a healthy, quick pace while maintaining a calm composure as much as he could. He occasionally checked on Flynn, hoping the blond-boy was not tripping over his own feet. He knew Flynn was still learning how to walk, and the fast pace wasn't particularly good for him during his learning streak, but what else could he do? Running was out of the question unless it was completely dire. Yuri noticed from the corner of his eyes that Flynn was constantly looking at the good, watching his legs and feet move in accordance to how he remembered being shown how to walk, but they were going quite fast, faster than he recalled. Overall, he was doing okay for now. Repede was by their side, keeping a comfortable pace with the boys and stole glances at Flynn to make sure the boy wouldn't fall either.

Many Lower Quarter citizens were coming out of their homes, wondering about the investigation of the former Captain's murder, and were several obstacles in the boys' path. Yuri's grip on Flynn tightened as he traversed through the crowds of people, weaving through them like a fork through pasta and constantly pardoning. Of course, his irritation level was rising; these people, while he cherished them to some extent because he's lived here once, they could be a nuisance at times. Yuri sometimes wished he were taller…

The pair of boys and their dog finally weaved through the crowd—their legs was more like it—and found that the exit out of Zaphias wasn't so far away. So far so good…

"We're almost out of here, come on!" Yuri urged again, keeping a lock on Flynn's hand.

"Yuri… I…I…" Flynn visibly panted through his words, his eyes half lidded as he tried looking to his brother. He stumbled a bit, dragging back some and obvious sweat beaded down his forehead.

"What's wrong, Flynn?" The dark-haired boy asked, noticing the choppy words and heavy gasps of breath from the blond-haired boy.

"I…tired of walking fast." The young blond mumbled under his breath, but Yuri heard it well. "I'm sorry, Flynn. I know this is very hard for you to be moving around a lot. I'll carry you on my back." Yuri offered, even going so far to hoist the other boy onto his back before Flynn could protest. Not that the blond could, he was still learning words. Yuri was somewhat grateful for that. Once the younger was situated onto his back, Yuri met with Repede's blue eyes and nodded. "But, Yuri is tired too." Flynn pointed out.

"I'm okay, Flynn. I'm not really tired." Yuri reassured him, ignoring the fact he referred to him in third person. "Let's go, Repede. We've got a long way to go until we reach the port on the other side of Deidon Hold." The boys and their dog took off without another word, giving one faint glance back at the Bedrock City. Unbeknown to the children and their pet, a pair of auburn eyes had watched them intently…

-x-x-x-

"Yuri!"

He was out of breath, and his energy was slowly sapping away. They only crossed about a quarter of the way through the Mayoccian Plains until they were suddenly attacked by monsters.

The two boar monsters came out of nowhere, literally. Yuri heard Repede growling, and kept a firmer grip on Flynn with his right arm as much as possible while readying his left hand on the hilt of his knife-blade machete. They were ugly, purple-coated creatures, Yuri was sure he saw some horn on their heads, on their noses, he couldn't tell nor did he care. They forced him to separate from Repede and Flynn, whom Yuri had to shove away while avoiding a charging strike from one of them. Thankfully, the war dog in training was by Flynn for protection, but the dark-haired boy still worried. But, that wasn't the reason why he was shaking now.

Flynn shouted his name in horrified worry, and rightfully so. Yuri had been tackled by one of the boar monsters, barely scraping away with a painful bruising scar marring his pale skin on his right arm. But, he wasn't planning on giving up right there. Yuri had someone to protect. He wasn't going to let Flynn down and this fight wasn't stopping him, either.

The second boar that attacked in a pair with the first was standing in both Repede's and Flynn's way. It grunted, whipped its tiny tail, and snorted as it drove itself into a mad dash attack towards the blond-haired kid and the dog. Snarling, Repede met its charge, whipping out the dagger from its side sheath and slashed diagonally while continuing to rush through. Flynn covered his eyes and sunk to his knees, his entire body shaking in fright. He'd seen Yuri and Repede fight before, but for some reason, he was afraid. Afraid something terrible might happen. The blond heard more slash attacks, mostly likely from Repede's dagger cutting into the flesh of the boar monster. Flynn whimpered a little, but stopped shortly when he felt a wet nose come in contact with his own. As he uncovered his face and opened his eyes, he met with Repede's similarly colored orbs looking at him, the dog standing before him and with a wagging tail.

"Oh… Repede hurt the monster." Flynn squeaked timidly. The dog was used to Flynn's chopped sentences and snorted in response. "We help Yuri fight now!"

Repede barked in agreement and before the dog turned around to assist his other master, Yuri was already wailing on the monster that attacked him. Despite being a child, he was in every way skilled with his sword, even if it happened to be a small sword for handiwork. The boy with dark hair wasn't as quick as Repede, but he may as well have been. The creature got in another hit, scarring the dark-haired boy on his right leg, making him stumble backwards, but Yuri regained his footing quickly. Summoning up the strength he had left, Yuri finished off the boar creature with a thrust of his tiny blade-like knife. The machete-like sword gutted through the monster's nose, making it screech horribly, Yuri jolted his arm commanding the blade's hilt to jerk upwards, slitting the creature partially in half as he performed an uppercut attack.

Once the beast was down, Yuri landed sloppily to his feet, panted heavily, and almost dropping his weapon as his legs were slowly giving out. Seeing this for himself and not missing a beat, Flynn was rushing to his side as fast as he could, stumbling along the way. "Y-Yuri…!" The younger of the two called out, tripping over his feet in the process, and falling onto the ground face first. Yuri snapped out of his wavering health, his grey eyes catching onto the tumbling frame that was his adoptive brother.

"Flynn!" He hurriedly got up, forgetting his injuries and rushed to the other boy's side, helping him stand and dusting him off. "Flynn, are you okay?!" The dark-haired child didn't get an immediate answer; instead, Flynn clamped onto him in a tight hug, as if he were a magnet. The next thing Yuri knew, he heard sniffles that turned into soft sobs and hiccups and that his shirt was getting wet. Ah, that's what. Every time Yuri got hurt, even a paper cut, Flynn would suddenly start crying. His life wasn't in danger every time, and he understood why Flynn would, but it wasn't necessary. Still, this time around, it must have been very scary to the blond. For one, he wasn't always shoved out of the way like so, and two, there was always one monster they encountered, not two, attacking. Repede and Yuri would handle things together rather than separately. It wasn't that Flynn was a crybaby—he was just easily frightened.

"Flynn, it's okay. I'm okay now." Yuri said softly, trying to soothe the younger boy's worries. He rubbed his back and held onto him just as tightly. Yuri felt incredibly guilty for being part of the reason why Flynn was spooked this time. The cost of his pain would be enough to keep the blond-haired boy safe from harm, and that's all that mattered to Yuri anyway; Flynn's utmost safety, and Repede's as well. He would take a bullet for them, several bullets if he had to in order to make sure they weren't hurt. Of course, the dog would be harder to protect as he was trying to do the same for both his masters; protecting _them_.

"…But…Yuri…you…and…hurt…" Flynn somewhat managed under his sniffling sobs and hiccups. Yuri pulled away and locked his hands on Flynn's shoulders, staring into those tearful sapphire orbs.

"Flynn, I'm all right. I'm not dead. You don't have to cry anymore." That didn't really make Flynn any better, but his tears fell fewer as the seconds ticked by. "I have some ouchies, but they'll be better in no time! Okay?" False security surely would help Flynn, too. Yuri knew those 'ouchies' of his would take a long time to heal up, especially now that they were miles away from Zaphias—and rightfully so—and they didn't have a healer on them. Yuri tried to use the strange component around the Ilccyian region, what was called aer, to supply himself with using the Seventh Fonon to heal himself through his fonslots once. He managed to heal his paper cut one time, but scars the size of tiger claws he wasn't capable of doing that. Healing and using Fonic Artes weren't his specialty, and normally left the task to healers. Flynn took notice of Yuri's bleeding scars, looking more worried than before. Apparently, nothing got past those blue eyes.

"But, Yuri is hurt in two places." The blond pointed out quite bluntly. His face was unusually serious.

"Y-yeah, but they'll go away soon." Yuri said quickly so that Flynn would stop questioning him. Repede gave him a curious glance but the dark-haired boy shooed it away. "So c-come on, Flynn. We have to get going again before it gets dark out." The older boy tried to urge him, but Flynn remained rooted in his spot. "Flynn?"

Yuri stared at him for a second, wondering what the younger was doing. It didn't take long to figure out what he was doing. The boy was pulling in fonons and some particles of the strange energy, aer, together through his fonslots. It was strange for Yuri, though. Whenever someone was casting an arte near him, he could feel their fonslots opening and accepting the fonons through their bodies and then release the arte they managed together. And, from feeling the opening of Flynn's fonslots mysteriously and the fonons he was no doubt sensing, it was the seventh fonon. Not many people could use the Seventh Fonon, but why was Flynn subconsciously pulling seventh fonons into his body? Yuri snapped out of his light trance when he noticed a faint, greenish-white light emanated from the tips of Flynn's hands as the boy touched Yuri's right arm. "Flynn? What are you—?"

Flynn said nothing as his sapphire eyes focused intently on the other's injury, his concentration solely upon the wound. It was closing up, the skin kneading back together like a needle with thread sowing in clothes. The essence of the fonic arte Flynn was casting even flooded to his right leg, where the wound there was healing up as well. The blood leftover blood was drying up and Yuri noticed beads of sweat were rolling down the younger's boy's forehead.

Here, Yuri learned Flynn was a Seventh Fonist.

"…Flynn…You can stop now. My wound is gone now." Yuri attempted to pull his arm away gently. Somehow, Yuri sensed Flynn's fonslots release the seventh fonon, and they were migrating back out into the invisible atmosphere that they rested in until pulled in again. However, Flynn's fonslots were accepting something else and Yuri recognized this as aer, what he tried before. Was Flynn going to use this odd energy? "Yuri, I…heal your wound." The blond stated shortly after he released the fonons in his body, but were concentrating more on the aer particles now. It seemed Flynn had no idea his own body was reacting the way it was.

Yuri smiled gratefully. "Yeah, you did, Flynn. How did you do that?" He was well aware of how Flynn did, but he wanted to be sure the boy himself knew.

Flynn tilted his head momentarily and brushed a few of his bangs from his face. "Yuri, you show me and Nylen show me how before."

Yuri blinked. He did? He didn't remember when he did—oh wait. "Oh yeah, I did. I can't believe I forgot." Of course he did. He remembered; it was last month of Ifrit Decan on a Remday. It was during lunchtime when Yuri attempted to cast a third fonic arte, and ultimately failed. It was a damn good try, but still. The Captain had noticed and summed up how Yuri could cast an arte, using his fonslots properly, and began the first instruction on aer and how to properly channel fonons through fonslots. It also happened to be the day the Captain had corrected Yuri's pronunciation of Flynn's 'made-up' last name.

Rather than "s-eye-fo" that Yuri conjured two months ago, which meant nothing in Ancient Ispanian; it was 'changed' to "shii-fo" instead. Yuri and Flynn both learned of what Flynn's name meant in the archaic language; _flynn_ was a diminutive from the word _faolan, which_ means "little wolf of the earth", and _scifo_ meant "heart healer". A little pun, as Yuri's last name, _lowell _meant "wolf". Of course, the entire lesson plan of aer and fonons completely confused them both, but the Captain promised they would get used to it someday. Apparently, today was that day. "You're very good at it, Flynn." The blond-boy's face beamed in excitement.

"I…did good thing, Yuri?"

"Yes, yes you did, Flynn. Good job." Yuri ruffled his brother's hair affectionately. "I feel all better now. Thank you."

Flynn laughed a bit, forgetting all of his worries for the time being. Afterwards, Yuri picked up his machete, putting it back into its proper place, and proceeded to get on his knees to allow Flynn aboard his back. They traveled faster that way, truthfully told. "Let's go, Flynn. The faster we get to Deidon Hold, the better." '_And after that, who knows…_' He thought to himself. The monsters after Deidon Hold were probably harder to beat than the ones on the outskirts of Zaphias. Yuri hoped that they wouldn't encounter any more monsters for the rest of the trip to Capua Nor. He only hoped. With Flynn on his back once again and Repede by his side, the trio set off again.

However, just a distance away, a figure with those auburn eyes from before continued on their trail…

-x-x-x-

"What do you mean we can't go through!?" Yuri's high-pitched voice echoed across the way. Flynn and Repede looked on from where they had sat, attempting to keep warm. The night had cascaded upon them as soon as they reached Deidon Hold, which was around the second day of traveling. All three of them were way beyond hungry, exhausted and just ready to crash somewhere, given how far they had to travel on one day alone, and then finishing it up on the next day. It hadn't been the easiest running from oncoming monster fights whilst carrying someone on your back. Not only that, they hadn't eaten for days before and were going off energy they had conserved for dire purposes. "My brother and I and our dog came all the way here from Zaphias and you're telling me we can't go through!?"

"Hey kid, we were given orders to not let anyone through here, given to us by Commandant Dinoia." One of the knights guarding the gate's entryway said, his eyes focusing on the dark-haired lad and his company. "If you're from Zaphias, then you'll know that Captain Nylen was murdered a couple of days ago. The investigation is still ongoing. You'll have to wait until things get cleared up."

"We don't have time to wait!" Yuri fumed, growing impatient. "We have to get to Capua Nor's port as soon as possible!"

"And why is that?" The second knight questioned suspiciously.

"You don't need to know that!" The boy retorted irritably. "Just let us through."

The knights took glances at one another before chalking up a laughing storm. "Ha-ha, kid you're funny. You wouldn't last a second behind this gate here if we let you through. There are monsters beyond here that are far stronger than the ones you may have met on the way here." The first knight stated, suppressing his chuckles. "Besides, you're acting strange all of a sudden." Yuri stopped his fuming and glared indignantly at the accusing soldier.

Yuri's eye twitched. "_Excuse_ me?"

"I said you're acting strange, kid." The first soldier repeated. "Not tellin' us why you need to go through this here gate just gets me suspicious."

"Yeah, now that you mention it…" His cohort's mind began turning the wheels of the cogs around. "What's your name, kid?"

Yuri rolled his eyes as this supposed interrogation was driving him up a wall. But, he may as well get it over with. "My name is…George Scifo." He lied plain as day. He figured he would have the need to hide his true identity since he had been hanging out with Captain Nylen Fedlock at some point or another. Besides, the kind man told him it was best if he hid his identity while being without him as something was told in the Score about his birth. What exactly, Yuri wasn't sure, nor did he bother asking. Whatever the Score said, it must have been bad, but the boy wasn't going to worry about it. "And, this is my little brother, Flynn Scifo." He pointed to the yawning blond-haired boy. Flynn's yawn ceased, with slight tears forming in the corner of his eyes. The sleepy child that was sitting beside Repede, whom was lying down, rubbed his eyes and couldn't resist another yawn.

The two guards looked at 'George' then to Flynn, and back again. Throwing on perplexing expressions, the second knight smirked. "Yeah right, kid. You and him resemble each other as much as a horse does to a dog. Get real!" Yuri's cheeks puffed up and his fuming anger returned at the daring insult.

"He _is_ my brother!" Yuri growled, his small fists clenching tight. Oh, if only he were taller he'd let his punches talk.

"Yeah, and I'm your uncle!" The first knight threw in hilariously. This didn't sit well with Yuri at all.

"Just… Just let us through! We've walked all day long and we're hungry! We _really_ have to get to the port of Capua Nor."

The two guards stopped laughing a bit, staring at 'George' and Flynn, and their dog, who was now growling at the insolence he was hearing. They sighed after exchanging more glances, returning to their dutiful composure. "Listen kid. We'd love to help, but we're under orders to not let anyone through. So, scurry on back to Zaphias and stay there for a while."

Yuri frowned and pouted. "But it's dark and we're tired… And the city's on a lockdown…"

"And? That isn't our problem. Now scoot!" The second knight said, pushing the boy away from the gate. "Come back later."

Grumbling in fury, Yuri stormed towards Flynn and Repede, infuriated. Was this really how the knights treated the people they were sworn to protect? Was this the treatment they deserved? Yuri told partial of the truth, but they still weren't allowed in. Why? Why couldn't they go through? Well, other than the obvious stated, but still. They hadn't made it halfway yet and here was this impediment. "Yuri, they help us?" Flynn asked when his sleepy eyes adjusted onto the form of his brother.

Yuri frowned and shook his head. "No, Flynn. They're not helping us." The dark-haired boy grumpily flopped down next to Repede.

"Oh." Flynn's soft voice crawled out from under his breath. "Why not?"

'_Because they're stupid…_' was what he wanted to say, but decided to keep that to his own thoughts. "They're being…really mean right now. The person that hurt Nylen really bad still hasn't been found yet, so they're keeping us from going anywhere until they find that person." He explained as slowly and carefully for Flynn to understand. The blond seemingly understood and frowned himself. Flynn yawned again, trying to keep awake, but given how late it was getting, he wouldn't last much longer.

"That's…not nice of them." Flynn said through his yawning.

"No…it's not." Yuri wrinkled a brow. A light silence parted between them, though Flynn's constant yawning was growing contagious on Yuri. He tried to suppress his yawn and succeeded barely. That is, until Repede yawned, and Yuri finally fell victim to the contagion.

"…Yuri. I am…sleepy." Flynn sniffled. "And…cold."

Yuri fought his own sleepiness and stood up to sit next to Flynn, and huddled close to him, embracing him in a tight hug. "I…so hungry, Yuri."

"I know…Flynn. Me too…" The ebony-haired child's voice spoke in a calming, hushed tone. If those bastards didn't let them through, they could have at least offered some rations of food to them. They were children for goodness sake. They were all very hungry and tired, even Repede showed it. Their exhausted energy was spent walking and avoiding danger. Even though Flynn was dozing off and the war dog not too far behind him, Yuri found it in himself to keep awake, at least for a few more minutes. But, his eyelids were growing heavier every second he fought the need for sleep. _Have to keep awake… Have to stay awake some more…_ Yuri kept telling himself, ignoring his growling stomach, the aching, oncoming headache, and his exhaustion. He had literally stayed up the whole night long last night to keep on watch for monsters and he was extremely tired.

Soon enough, Flynn's head slumped over, sluggishly drooping from where it sat on Yuri's shoulder, where it originally was towards his chest. The blond, however, was out like a light. Yuri snapped awake, if only for that brief moment, and noticed his adopted brother's position on him. It was rather uncomfortable to the black-haired boy, who shifted a little, the backside of his body brushing against Repede's medium-sized bulk. The war dog in training instantly woke up from the movement, his ears twitching and his light blue eyes wandering towards his young masters. Yuri grunted as he kept shifting around to get comfortable and at the same time, making sure Flynn was comfortable as well, and remained sleep. It didn't take long for the older boy to notice Repede was gazing at him like a sniper peering through his focus lens intently. "I'm sorry for waking you Repede. I didn't mean to." Yuri apologized while he carefully scanned the area and the sky.

So far, no monsters were lurking around, which was a good thing, but the sky's message was clear as day to him.

Dark clouds had long since filled the once cloudless night's sky, blocking out the beautiful stars that had twinkled on the painted, dark canvas above. The way the overcast hid the moon and its stars only signed this off as a warning; it was going to rain. Yuri grimaced but looked at Repede with an unpleasant expression. Thank goodness, the dog understood facial sign language. The blue-furred canine stood up from his spot, carefully as Yuri shuffled Flynn onto his back again. "We have to move quick, Repede. It's going to rain." Yuri said, making sure his grip on the blond was secure. The dog grunted as his reply, staying close by his masters.

Yuri gathered as much of his leftover energy as he could and began walking from their former place, and rescanned their area. It was too dark to see now, that was for sure, and even if he could pull in fifth fonons to start a fire, he didn't have any free hands to carry a makeshift torch. Well, perfect… "Repede, we'll need shelter. Can you sniff out a tree?" The dog woofed as if to say "sure, follow me" and started walking off, his nose low to the ground as he began to pick up the scent of bark. Yuri, though he couldn't visibly see Repede, he could see the outline of his shadow, and strangely enough, the dog's fonslots beating in harmony with his own, for only a moment. That was…strangely, weird, but the boy didn't care about that right now. The boy's repine at the situation was growing like a weed in a garden and it was biting at his conscience.

Not only that, but he kept hearing things in his head again, and adding to the fact he could hear Flynn's heartbeat and the huffs of his breathing while he slept. If that wasn't enough, Yuri felt the blond's fonslots alongside Repede's in connection to his. However, they weren't beating in rhythm or in the same tempo as his, but something else _was_. It seemed very, very far away, but at the same time, it felt so close. Where was it coming from? The sonorous felt pleasant, welcome even, and for some reason or another, Yuri eerily remembered and recognized it. The very light voice that came with it wasn't Lorelei, but it was connected to the Seventh Fonon. It only happened when he was around a particular redhead…

'_Luke_.'

Yes, that's right. That's what that little noble boy's name was. As much as Yuri hated nobles, and how the knights that weren't apart of the kind Captain's unit he and Flynn stayed with, that little boy was an exception. When Yuri met him the first time, the ringing sound that was in his head grew louder but even sweeter, if one could call it. Luke admitted he heard a sound in his head and Yuri had to wonder if it was the same thing they were hearing. The second time Yuri met him, he had Flynn with him. It was the day after Yuri found Flynn in the back alleys of Baticul, and the mischievous dark-haired boy cunningly snuck himself, his new brother and Repede—again—up to the upper quarters of Baticul. He had wanted Flynn and Luke meet, because the redhead had gained his limited friendship surprisingly enough. As soon as they were safely up there, they had to hide behind trees, and once again, Repede played his cute-dog-eyes-trick on the knights to throw them astray momentarily while he and Flynn moved on. Yuri would always chuckle when the knights fell for the same trap, and wondered how they remained knights if a dog broke their position for a moment.

Thankfully, that day, Luke had been in the garden, practicing swordplay by himself. When their eyes met again, Yuri was surprised that Luke recognized him. After all, he was a toddler when they first met. Luke was seven years old, and his birthday was soon to come in a few months. They exchanged words and Yuri finally introduced Flynn to Luke. The blond boy was obviously shy and couldn't exactly process much into his beginning vocabulary, but he was able to say Luke's name, with extreme difficulty, of course. Afterwards, Luke went to retrieve that same orange ball he had from ages ago—Yuri wondered if he polished it because it looked so brand new—and they managed to get Flynn to understand the basics of playing catch. The three "intruders" didn't stay for long as Luke's trainer, Van, had called for him, and the boy urged them to leave before they were caught. However, before leaving, Luke told Yuri something that outright confirmed his suspicions those four years ago:

He heard the ringing sound back then, and when they were close to each other, it was even stronger. He felt a warm pulse and something else, like fonons, resonate within his fonslots. He also said he's been hearing strange thoughts in his mind, but other than that, couldn't describe it.

Now, as Yuri thought back on them, the same thing happened to him; _he_ was hearing thoughts. Someone's thoughts that weren't his and if comparing it to anything else he's felt, it felt like Lorelei was all over it. He wouldn't forget how he felt his mind was literally invaded by the Seventh Fonon, four years ago. He remembered that it—he—said he opened up his closed fonslots… And then, after that, Yuri began hearing other fonslots if he was close enough, he felt the fonons flow in and out of them each time someone used a spell. Even if they were manipulating aer, he felt it. It was so strange; he didn't understand it, and still doesn't. What the _hell_ did that Lorelei whoever do to him? And, he still hasn't figured out why Lorelei called him "king" either. Ugh, this was becoming confusing!

Suddenly, a loud crash of thunder boomed overheard, interrupting Yuri's thoughts and unfortunately, shaking Flynn awake. The blond's droopy eyes flung open the second the clap of roar ended, and his panic returned. "Wh-what?" He gaped, clutching tightly to whatever he could grip as protection, which turned out to be Yuri's hair.

"Ow…" Yuri winced. "Flynn, that hurts."

"O-Oh… S-sorry Yuri. But, that sound very loud. Wh-where it come?"

Yuri opened his mouth but closed it when nothing would form. He was about to tell Flynn that it was thunder and that he should have known but the kid hadn't experienced a storm before. A second booming bellowed in across the sky, making Flynn gasp and whimper. "It's…called thunder, Flynn. It's a really loud sound like drums but only in the sky. It means it might rain." Yuri explained, noticing Repede had stopped and began growling. Uh-oh. Repede only growled when monsters or people he didn't like were coming close. And, because there wasn't anybody else other than them out here, Yuri guessed they encountered monsters. That's just all fine and dandy! "Oh no…" The dark-haired boy grumbled, reaching for his tiny sword—if it could be called that. He knew he was going to be at a disadvantage, but he didn't dare put Flynn down. Unfortunately, the beating fonslots that were drawing closer and the growls he heard weren't only from Repede…

Wolves; there were wolves surrounding them.

Yuri couldn't count on how many there were. His head was like on fire; there were so many things going on at once! There was so much _noise_ around him, he couldn't focus. He missed hearing the metal of a dagger being pulled out. He missed the sound of steel meeting flesh and the howling cries that followed. But, he _did_ hear something out of the pacing melody that was chaotically around him…

"Waaah!" Flynn's scream.

-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-

Repede yawned, bored and tired of having to walk all day long. But, it was for a good reason they had to be on the move. His master, Yuri, didn't want to be caught by those so-called knights of Zaphias. The man they were living with had been killed, and the kids and he forcefully removed themselves from the scene of the crime. This is where Repede sometimes wish humans and animals could communicate; he had seen everything with his eyes. The people that assassinated the good captain had strange hair color; it seemed like a mixture of what looked like weird splash of colors. The first person's bangs were yellow, but they had black in their hair as well as pink. Seriously, now—who _dyes_ their hair those colors these days, a clown from the Black Troupe? The second one, the one who seemed to be behind the entire scheme, was a woman with short, violet hair. The other criminal was a young boy actually, most likely the same age as his masters. Repede saw them briefly and proceeded to sneak up on them.

The assassin child muttered some words to the woman before they turned to leave out of the window from whence they came—that is, until Repede tackled him. The little boy cried in terror, unbefitting of an assassin, which no doubt alerted his companion and several knights that had been stationed around the perimeter. Repede nearly had the cynical, uppity brat pinned down until the woman came at him with her blade. The wolf dog dodged a split second before it came down on him, back-flipped skillfully to evade another round and countered with his dagger. During this, the kid used a mainstream method of escape; a smokescreen. Oh, brilliant, Repede hadn't been counting on that one. The dog choked on the fumes of billowing mist, which provided cover for the cunning duo to make their escape. When the smoke began dying down from its effect, Repede hurried to the window and tried to look for the culprits. The war hound trainee growled—which was the equivalent of cursing—and began sounding the howling alarm.

Thank goodness his old man, Lambert—Captain Nylen's personal War dog—overheard the signal and began rounding up his own unit. This more or less alarmed the human knights, and they began getting into gear. A captain of his own unit that Repede didn't bother caring about barged in first—what was his name, Alexei?—and saw the horror that was Captain Nylen, dead. Repede and the captain exchanged silent glances before the dog returned to barking out the window, hopefully to get the other stupid knights back on duty and close the city down before that strange-haired kid and woman escaped. Soon after that Alexei man entered the room, more knights along with his father, Lambert, came and began handling the impromptu of a situation. Lambert and his son exchanged grunts and gestures to notify the other of the issue, the older war dog understanding. It was painful, to see his master and caretaker dead. Because the Captain was on his bed, the man must have been asleep when the two criminals entered and committed the act.

With everything becoming chaotic, Repede reluctantly left the matter into his father's paws as well as the knights. They would investigate the murder; until then, Lambert gave his son a specific task, and the task itself rested in getting the two boys that stayed in the house of the Captain out. If anything, the knights would investigate the entire household, and it became clear that Lambert knew of Yuri's existence he and his caretaker have been careful of hiding until now. While Repede was on his way to the room Yuri and Flynn shared, it appeared as his masters already had the idea, almost. Yuri had stood outside of the room with a strong grip on Flynn's hand, wondering what just happened. Repede sat in front of the dark-haired boy, waiting patiently for him to recognize that he was there. It seemed the boy's grey eyes finally adjusted to the faithful dog sitting there, but his attention was captured again by the scene he saw next; knights carrying a dead man's body out on a stretcher. Repede turned his attention back to Yuri and wasn't surprised by the expression he saw on the lad's face.

Utter shock captured Yuri's face when his eyes lied on the form of his guardian. Captain Nylen Fedlock was dead, murdered by someone for who knew why. The boy was shaking, and Flynn was growing concerned. Repede nudged his wet nose against the back of Yuri's hand, which shook the ten-year-old out of his daze. Tears rolled down Yuri's face, and the dog had expected it. It was human nature to cry, for one to become saddened when another had passed away. However, instead of moaning out in utter hysteria like many would do, the black-haired boy remained silent, but there was no doubt he was shaking with rage. Repede knew his master was scheming revenge, somewhere deep down. However, for a second, he thought he saw Yuri's eyes flicker from their normal grey tones to a sharp, blood red and the tips of his unusual black hair lighten into a light brown color. That was rather unusual. As quickly as that came, it was gone in a second.

As much as he would like for his master to vent and plot, he had a task to fulfill. Orders were shouted to search the entire home, which was now Repede's signal to book it out of there with the boys. He pushed his two young charges back into the room and encouraged them to get out. It was a miracle that Yuri snapped out of whatever he had done moments ago and went to grab his shoes and very few personal things, like his given machete of a sword that the kind Captain gave him and his and Flynn's identification slips. Yuri hurriedly helped Flynn put his shoes and sweater on, as well as his own, and proceeded to dragging the blond-haired boy to his window. Once the coast was clear, Yuri slowly opened up the window and with Repede's help, the trio escaped through it, with Yuri closing the window back.

However, Repede was sure they were being followed.

After making it through the Middle Quarter of Zaphias and into the Lower Quarter, the trio remained out of sight, going off on their energy they had the day earlier. It had only been one day and the boys were showing fatigue, due from hunger and lack of sleep. Thankfully, Repede's father, Lambert, and two of his war dog companions found them and ushered them to their stalls. There wasn't a lot of human food there, but it was enough to sate the kids for some time. Thankfully, some of their caretakers would forget they left their lunches behind, and it scored points for the boys. Sandwiches weren't so bad, really. However, day two, three, and then four went by, and that same fatigue returned. Sometimes Yuri would ask for food and samples while him and Flynn lived on the streets, hidden. Some people spared what they could while the knights patrolling the area booted him off. It was extremely rude, needless to say, and Repede wanted to, more or less, kick those knight's asses.

Unfortunately for the dog, Flynn had scolded him in the cutest ways possible, telling him "it wasn't nice to growl at people", well, that's what Repede thought he said.

Yuri finally decided they had to leave Zaphias because of the knights patrolling the area may be looking for them. They would be going to Capua Nor, the port just northwest of Zaphias, more importantly, to Baticul again. Sounded like a good idea to Repede, really. Perhaps they would see that Luke kid again. He also knew his old man wanted them away from the crime scene as much as possible until they could figure out who the criminal was. The city would soon be going on a lockdown—what a bother. Yuri however managed to maneuver them out of the city in time before the knights blockaded the exits, and the trio were soon on their way to a Deidon Hold place. To Repede, it sounded very familiar, but he couldn't quite understand why it was. After some exchange of words between his two masters and Yuri offering to carry Flynn upon his back, they set off.

Still, it was creepy, but the war dog in training seriously thought something or some_one_ was following them. He couldn't put his nose on it, but there was something _definitely_ there. Tsking in his own way, the dog proceeded after his masters.

x-x

Well, shit out of luck. If Repede were human, that would have been the first thing he said, considering the situation they got into. The first fight they met, it had been a pair of Rhinossus monsters, from what he remembered during his training regimen. Now, having been two days since their departure from the imperial capital, it was a pack of wolves, and there was a chance of rain. The war dog trainee didn't take any chances the moment he inhaled their scents. He withdrew his dagger from its sheath and rushed to meet two of the snarling wolves. Repede growled back, dodging their lunging attacks and claws, then dove in for his own array of attacks. One wolf was slain and the second had avoided the blue dog's flurry of strikes, then charging fangs first for Repede. Grunting, the agile young canine met with his dagger's hilt clutched between his teeth, clashing against the other's fangs. A third wolf from behind growled and arrogantly rushed at Repede, its eyes narrowed.

Repede quickly pulled his dagger from its prison, kicking the wolf he had dueled to meet against the one who dared attempted to attack him from behind. He smirked the way a dog could and crouched down low. The wolf didn't have time to blink as the blue wolf dog mysteriously reappeared behind it and drove his dagger through the mutt's lower region. As soon as it dropped down to its death, the earlier wolf he had fought rose to his challenge, managing to snag him across his face with its uneven nails. Growling under his breath, Repede's fur bristled as he adjusted the hilt of his weapon while the prowling beast engaged him in round two. The war dog trainee and his opponent met with claws first, trying to overpower the other in mid tumble, however Repede was quick to think by plundering his weapon through the wild wolf's neck.

Repede quickly scanned his surroundings and his back fur bristled even more. Three were down, but there were more to go.

And that's when he heard a shrieking cry…

"Waaah!" That was Flynn's voice! Repede instantaneously spun around, dagger in mouth. However, he was met with the back of a wailing Flynn on the ground and in front of the blond-haired boy was Yuri, machete in hand, blocking at the fangs of a wolf monster. The black-haired youth was being pushed back, the creature's strength easily outmatching the boys'. Snarling in rage, the blue-furred canine hurried to his master's aid, performing a thrusting and slash upon the beast that, as much as he hated thinking, bested the older human boy.

"Repede!" The dog heard both of his masters cry out, but the war dog trainee was bent on killing the monsters that surrounded them, to protect the two kids. Withdrawing his weapon from its temporary lodging, Repede stepped back, attentively making sure both Yuri and Flynn were a second behind him. His long tail protectively curled around them as if they were his young—that Repede acted upon them—the bristled fur on his back darkening as well as his unfriendly growls growing in volume. He barked, his own fangs showing under his snout, his light blue eyes narrowed dangerously. Two of snarling wolves figured it out and backed down, eventually retreating, but some of the stubborn ones remained. Between the young war dog and the monsters, it was a staring contest; none of them dared to blink or even attempted to move. Repede's ears twitched as he heard light shuffling from behind him.

He knew it was Flynn getting closer to Yuri. The boy's panicked breathing and whimpers were enough to distinguish him from the older child, but Repede was certain Yuri was scared as well.

Thunder boomed in the sky again, and now, speckles of rainwater were slowly cascading. Flynn squeaked when a few drops hit the top of his head. Yuri flinched and gasped slightly when the water tapped onto his, and Repede didn't budge. Just as when it seemed like the wild monsters were going to retreat as well, something else didn't feel right. Someone was gathering in the energy, what the dog remembered the humans calling it fonons and aer. And then, someone shouted from the distance—the voice it belonged to made the blue-furred dog cringe internally and wonder where he went wrong…

"_Raging Ice Fang_!"

-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-

He had finally finished his business in Daath, and was heading to the port of Daath Bay where he was to take the next ship to Capua Nor. His next destination was Zaphias, the capital city of the Ilyccian continent, where his office and unit of knights were currently stationed. Since both the Great War and the Hod War have slowly ended and the world was on its path to peace—that's what many people have thought—it was the job of the soldiers to help support that inching peace, wherever it lied. A calming wind whipped silently into his silver-blond locks, the warm sun on his moderately tanned skin. He had changed out of the outfit befitting his rank as a God-General and donned his proud, red uniform and armor of his newly promoted rank; Commandant. With the emblem of Zaphias plated on the armor, he felt half of his accomplishments were achieved but now, he had business to attend to.

The captain Nylen Fedlock had contacted him about a serious matter about the Ether Lands and the Score. The Empire of Ilyccia, as well as the other nations of Terca Lumireis, had forsaken the Score ten years ago because of what the previous Emperor of Zaphias was told from Daath's own Grand Maestro Mohs. And, to his luck, the letter where the dear Captain had written so happened to have been the subject of which he had researched. Nylen had informed him of very sensitive information; it seemed to consider about the original sentient's location. Funny because he was still _looking_ for that Score forsaken child. It had eluded him for a long time. The year, in which it was supposed to be in Baticul to locate the Sacred Flame, he had gone there to enact his plan a few months before. And, in the same year the child of the original was supposed to be there, he also went.

Playing everything a child's way, he believed the child would most likely wander around the streets of the Capital of Light. Also, the child would most likely have a high fonic level of energy, given the king of elements had commandeer over all. He also had obtained interesting information on the child as well when visiting Daath's cathedral; thanks to current Fon Master, that information came directly from the Closed Score.

_ND 1996, in the bedrock city of peace of the land of Ilyccia, a child shall be born, but of poverty. He shall be called, "laborer of the original archaic provenience" and be the scion of the Original One. In the form of the human incarnate shall the Original Sentient, King of all Fonim, cross Auldrant to find its Sacred Light. _

There was _more_ to that foretelling:

_The Original King, whilst in its human incarnate, shall be borne of dark hair of ebony that hums a hue of violet and have eyes grey of stone. _

The description was now more than enough to go off by. At first, he believed he would be on a wild goose chase for this child, but when he had such obtained precious information, he believed it would be much easier to find them. He thought he'd have to draw the child out using another child, but it seems as if things were changing, and for the better in his idea. The faster he had the child in his grasp, the better it was to controlling it. Children were easy to manipulate, and the original would be no different. However, when he went to Baticul to look for the child based on description alone, he couldn't find them anywhere, or in this matter, him. The Score foretold the original to be a boy with dark hair of ebony, but it would have violet in the hair as well. How unusual and how irksome as well. Not many people in the world had black hair and if they did, they would most likely have originated from Daath or Ilyccia.

Granting his luck, however, there was some child his eyes caught onto, and the ma concentrated on opening his fonslots to sense the presence of fonic energy or even a high concentration of aer. The boy had dark hair, very short and ended around neck length. The man couldn't see what color the child's eyes were because he had his back turned. The small boy was wearing a simple long sleeve black shirt with a dark grey button vest, similar shaded pants and shoes on his feet. Was that a short sword sheathed to his side? The kid was watching a circus act he believed, alongside a dog with blue and white fur. In addition to this, the child's fonslots weren't opening to collect fonons like he anticipated the Original to be doing… Soon enough, the child and what he assumed was his pet dog were gone. Grunting in irritation, the man decided to leave and return to Daath.

But, a small speck of black caught his attention quickly. He turned and found it was that same boy and his dog again, they were now running around a few corners and into the alleyways of Baticul. Wait a second… If that kid found out what was back there then his plan he had set for the Original will be ruined! Cursing his luck, the man set his pace, walking carefully and around the bustling city of Baticul, keeping his auburn eyes only on the boy who vanished behind the alley. After watching for suspicious persons, the man quietly turned a corner down the alleyway, and stopped abruptly when he heard a voice:

"-ri Lowell! What's yours?"

What was this about Lowell? That name was familiar, in fact, he knew why it was. In the same unit of Daath's military, one by the name Viscount Pantarei-Lowell, from Zaphias. Ah, that's why it sounded familiar. Was it possible…? That man _did_ reveal he had a son back in Zaphias, but never disclosed much about the child. Could it be…? The man remained silent, but listened carefully. "Uh…hello? Aren't you gonna answer?" the first boy's voice asked.

The next voice that came sounded quite familiar, but he knew why it did. "Y-Y-Yuuuuureeeeee?" It was long and drawn out, and the man nearly lost his breath. He heard it very clearly, but was this a deceiving trick? No, it couldn't but… Then the other child laughed slightly at the strange pronunciation of what the man hoped was the name he heard.

"Yeah! C-Close enough! But say it like this: YU-RI." The man heard the first boy's voice say. He eased over and peeked around the corner to see for himself.

Yes, it was just as he heard. The boy with the black hair he saw earlier…was called Yuri. And, if he heard correctly moments ago, the boy's full name was Yuri Lowell, and if his thoughts were on the money, he'd bet Viscount Pantarei-Lowell was, no _is_, his father. Oh, how incredibly _lucky_ this day was becoming for him! The young Original Sentient had literally fallen right into his trap just as he planned. Now that he had the brat right where he wanted him, things would become much more interesting and troublesome as well. For one, Pantarei was a God-General of Daath, and because they worked under a similar unit, the man would most likely find out his son was in his clutches. It wasn't a good idea to get a man who had an Entelexia as a friend upset. Most importantly, what if the boy recognized his father if they were to ever see one another? That _also_ wouldn't have been a grand idea, either. He could always hide the child, but considering how young the Original King was, he would most likely figure a way to get out. There were some flaws to his plans as they stood now. But, he would have to figure them out along the way, as soon as the brat was in his grasp—

"I know! Your name can be Flynn!" The man stopped his train of thoughts when he heard the boy named Yuri speak again. Some time must have passed… Was the Original naming that other boy? "Try out your new name, Flynn! Say it! F-U-LUH-EN! Flynn!" The one called Yuri pronounced slowly for the other to follow. The littler boy, the blond one seemed to stare in confusion for a few seconds before he managed to try his 'name'.

—apparently, the Original was becoming attached to the younger boy, helping him up, talking to him, and even giving the blond his food. Yes, it was working absolutely wonderfully. However, the Original wasn't quite close as he hoped. Perhaps he would have to leave it with the littler child for maybe a few years before he initiated the scheme. He wanted the Sentient to fall into his total control, and the only way to do that was attack its heart. The blond child would become that heart of its feelings one day, when they had grown closer. Perhaps he should give it a couple months—two at the most. He would have to monitor the boy, to follow and spy on his movements, and make sure he didn't slip out of his radar. He couldn't allow his precious seed of destruction to go anywhere until he knew what he was up to.

This thus, brings us to the present time.

The spy he hired failed to keep tabs on the child, and he unfortunately slipped out of his radar. However, since he received the letter from Captain Nylen Fedlock, and unknowingly to the man, he had included the Original Sentient. How generous of him, to literally dangle the boy right in his face, despite it wasn't intentional. It had been enough time to initiate his plan; through the eyes of Master Gailardia's 'connections', the boy named Yuri had been growing closer to the one he called Flynn, even going so far as to claim the other blond as his brother. And, from hearing Master Gailardia's words of the one called Flynn being just as attached to Yuri, it would prove very valuable.

That child was proving very useful. He was now where the silver-haired Commandant wanted him; the heart of Origin. He would attack Origin's heart and subdue the raging beast where he wanted him.

And, the opportunity was surely coming close.

x-x

Damn it! Damn it all to the hellish Qliploth! The man swore to himself, irritated by the occurring events; after he left Capua Nor and as he reached Deidon Hold with a few of his men, he had been informed of Captain Nylen's assassination. If anything now, the Score was cursing him! He had everything perfectly planned out and now this happens! If the man was dead, then where would Origin be? If he guessed correctly, the brat would be near the former Captain's home, or better, it would simply _be _there for him to collect as he pleased. He could only hope and scheme, of course. The Commandant had to hurry, feeling time was against him.

The soldiers reached Zaphias within two days, and the red-clad commander quickly moved past the Lower Quarter and towards the Middle Quarter where the Captain had lived. As he entered the house, he believed he heard a squeak of a voice, then a calming "shh" of another. The man with auburn eyes smirked devilishly to himself, having recognized those voices. It had only been two months ago, but he wouldn't allow time to deter him from remembering something he wanted. The small voices of the boys called Flynn and Yuri; so they _were _nearby! Good, good, that was excellent. They had to be somewhere in this house, then. Why else would the Captain mention Origin's location in his letter? Because he had been harboring the child! Oh, such a stingy man he was, keeping the little boy all to himself when _he _had so much more in store for the world.

But, back to business.

The Commandant quickly donned a serious face as he maneuvered through the house, finding one of the War Dogs in the room with a fatally wounded and dead Nylen Fedlock in his bed, blood bathed everywhere against the wall where the bed post rested. The war dog had been howling to alert the other knights and War Dogs in the capital city. The canine appeared to be in its adolescence, having light blue tipped fur atop its head, a coating of darker blue, lighter, creamy white fur serving as its underbelly, paws and muzzle. It also seemed to have a pipe in its mouth—the red-clad male recognizing it as Nylen's—and those light blue eyes shone with caution. It also strangely had a sash around its upper body, with a dagger's hilt perched in its place of the sheath. What was a War Dog doing with a human weapon? Regardless, he and the dog exchanged glances before the rest of his unit stormed in, right along with another War Dog—this one older and taller than the first.

They shared the common breed, and given how the younger wolf dog was bowing its head, it appeared the older one was its parent. Upon a closer inspection, the Commandant noticed it was Nylen's War Dog in particular, Lambert. If that was right, then the younger lookalike dog had to be his son. It was well known Lambert had a son, the older dog being a proud father whenever it was mentioned in conversations. The two made some exchanges then the son left the room. Whatever. The Commandant allowed Lambert a moment for the death of his caretaker to sink in before he commanded some of his men to take the body to the nearest clinic, and begin an investigation.

"Commandant Alexei, what are your orders, sir?" a knight approached him, saluting as he stood upright.

"Search the entire house! There may be some clues as to who the culprit was!" He ordered. "Leave nothing unchecked! Notify the rest of the Royal Guard to blockade the exits of this very city and have it on lockdown! Inform Barbos and Cumore of the situation, and inform those stationed at Deidon Hold to permit nobody to go through the gate at all costs! I want the perimeter of the city searched, including the Royal Quarter, is that understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Inform the men. I will begin conducting a search myself."

"Yes sir, right away!"

When the knight left, others who had overheard the orders began storming off to do as tasked. However, out of the corner of his eye once more, Alexei had caught onto a faint cluster of black having turned a corner. His wicked grin returned, feeling a sense of déjàvu. '_My, my. I wonder what little Origin has planned this time._' The Commandant thought darkly as he quietly approached the very corner he spotted the dark blotch of color that was hair. However, as he drew closer to the end of the corner, he heard some shuffling and whimpering noises. It also seemed like one of the children were grumbling under his breath and proceeding to opening something. Odd…What were those little imps up to? The ash-blond Commandant rounded the corner and stopped at a closed door, and as he leaned near the door, he heard something going out and someone struggling. Now what in the world could be going on?

As soon as Alexei opened the door, which happened to lead into a room where two kids would have stayed in, the window had been closed shut by small hands and a familiar voice that belonged to the delinquent Yuri Lowell came from outside. Growling to himself, the Royal Guard commander rushed to the window and opened it immediately. He quickly scanned the area for any of the children, and easily spotted the moppets of black and bright blond hair scurrying down towards the Lower Quarter's direction. Damn it, he missed them and the Commandant scolded himself. He would have had those pubescent rats in his grasp right about now if he had acted sooner. '_They won't get far, as the city will be lock downed very soon._' He reminded himself. Yes, and then he could track down those juvenile urchins, and enable his plans.

x-x

"Can't those dastards do anything right…" Alexei muttered to himself as he watched the scurrying forms of the young boys swiftly exit the city, just as the blockade arrived. It had been a couple of days to formulate the official blockade of the city, and since the incident of the late Captain's death. Thankfully, the incompetents of knights he was complaining about weren't any of his men, but rather, they were apart of Barbos' unit. Still, how could they have _missed_ them? How could they have not seen two children and their pet dog exit the city? The ash-blond Commandant was wondering how much longer his nerves could handle any more of these insolences. '_If you can't get anyone else to do the job right, do it yourself._' He thought, hardening his gaze at another red-clad Captain with light bluish-silver hair, Alexander Cumore. "Captain Cumore, I will leave matters into your hands for some time."

"Oh?" The man called Cumore wondered with an edge of suspicion. "Commandant, are you sure?"

"Yes. I've spotted two people who may be suspects to the situation. I will personally retrieve them myself." Alexei replied, making sure his sword's sheath was strapped properly. "Keep the citizens inside the city and do not allow anyone through unless authorized personnel, understood?"

"Yes sir, but are you sure you won't need any men with you for, you know, protection?"

"No. I will be fine. You'll need as many soldiers at your disposal to continue the search of the culprit responsible for Captain Fedlock's death."

"But sir, didn't you just say—"

"I will leave it to you for now." Alexei interrupted, leaving out of the city's exit. The knights that had been stationed at Zaphias' entryway returned to their post after saluting the Commandant. However, once the Commandant was out of sight, and the knights were situated back into place, the long-haired Captain shifted the task of keeping the city on lock down as well as the search for the criminal responsible to another captain, Schwann, and with a few men, decided to tail the Commandant. For some reason, the ash-blond man seemed suspiciously fishy, and Cumore, being the "righteous knight" he was, wanted to figure out what got the commander's wheels spinning.

x-x

He had followed them, carefully keeping the elusive moppets and their pet pooch in his sight. He didn't dare get within range of the dog's scent radius, as he would have been found out soon and the boys would no doubt keep on the move and get further away. The boy named Yuri and his pet, which surprisingly turned out to be Lambert's son he had seen days prior, were engaged in a fight against a pair of Rhinossus. The War Dog trainee successfully felled the monster that attacked him and Origin's incarnate proved himself worthy and defeated his. He was just a child after all, so Alexei was expecting the boy to be extraordinarily skilled. It was interesting to note the interaction between the two boys after the battle. It was so—dare he say—cute, it was sickening. But, it would all play out well enough. He was amazed, however, that the Flynn child was a capable Seventh Fonist, having healed Yuri's wounds with ease. It was odd, because the young Master Gailardia was incapable of using the seventh fonon… So how was this boy able to? Being lost in his thoughts nearly cost him to—almost—lose sight of his young targets. Damn, he should really stop thinking too deeply like that. Once he was certain the juvenile progenies were far enough, he continued after them, silently. The skies were painting themselves into a wondrous, dark night. Perhaps, this will be his chance to grab those little termites finally.

x-x

"Waaah!"

That was the sound of Master Gailardia's cry, the voice that belonged to the boy called Flynn. He needed to remember that boy was not the Gardios youngster he knew. After the confrontation of the knights at Deidon Hold—who were unfortunately two of his men assigned there—the trio had decided to move locations, due to the oncoming rain. Unfortunately, after a while, that's when they were ambushed by wolf monsters.

The War Dog was proving itself once more, and for a moment, he believed Origin's incarnate wasn't going to do anything. What was he thinking about now? Did…did the young scion sense his presence? No, it looked more like he was in pain, internal pain. So, it had to be something going on in its head. Alexei was proven wrong when the boy Yuri snapped out of his trance, dropped the blond he had been faithfully protecting and met head on with the wolf that lunged at him. He seemed to do all right for only a few seconds until the beast was overpowering the youngster. Yuri's frame was cringing under the weight of the monster, slowly recoiling as the beast hungrily drew closer to the black-haired progeny. However, the dog—Repede was his name—jumped in and bested the fiend with his weapon of choice, protectively wrapping his tail around the children whilst growling at the remaining wolves in the area.

A roar of thunder erupted angrily in the skies above, and drops of rain began to fall. The moppets were muttering something to themselves, which Alexei didn't catch on quite yet, but with intently watched how the remaining wolves moved. They didn't seem to be going anywhere; given the staring contest, they and Repede were under. '_This has gone far enough._' He thought, withdrawing his sword from its sheath. It was time to take matters into his own hands. Gathering the fourth fonon into his fonslots, Alexei began chanting silently to himself, knowing the two pubescent boys and the War Dog would sense it. However, he couldn't lose the young scion now. As soon as he gathered enough fonons, manipulating aer into the equation, he slammed his blade onto the ground, creating a multitude of erupting glaciers, sending them in the pathway of the wolves.

"_Raging Ice Fang_!"

Sounds of wolf-howls echoed into the night, the sharp ice piercing through flesh and felling the monsters in one fell swoop. Now that those imbeciles were taken care of, Alexei proceeded into the light clearing the troublemakers had stood in for some time.

"What the? W-who!?" He heard Yuri gape as he and Flynn witnessed the powerful arte.

"You're a tricky one to find, you know." Alexei said, frowning and crossing his arms. "Any further and those wolves would have eaten you both alive."

-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-

Yuri was trembling just as much as Flynn was when Repede decided to save him from the wolf's attack, and then circle them protectively. He knew the wolf dog was doing what he believed in, but this wasn't how Yuri wanted it to be. He had to be the one to protect them both, not Repede doing the protecting. However, much to his chagrin, here it was. He noticed Flynn scoot closer to him, scared as all hell, whimpering when the rain was fell upon their heads. Repede had been growling, sending warning noises that only canines understood in their universal language at the fiendish hounds that surrounded them before. He even stared them down venomously, even though they were many times bigger than he was. While the canines were having a staring contest or whatever it was, Yuri felt something…opening up. At first, he didn't know what it was because of how faint and far away, but it was within his range of…sensing. He soon came to realize it was someone's fonslots opening and accepting the flow of fonons, particularly the fourth fonons and a mixture of aer was consumed in it.

Whoever was doing it, they were gathering a _lot_ of the fourth fonic element, and it was scaring Yuri. Who was casting a huge spell? And why now of all times? As much as he hungered for those answers, he'd never get them—

"_Raging Ice Fang_!"

—or better yet, he just might. Someone shouted, their voice rebounding around like an echo, and suddenly as it did, a powerful source of ice erupted from the ground, crushing and stabbing the monstrous beasts in one arte. Whoa, whoever was responsible was definitely strong and talented. "What the? W-who?!" He gaped, looking around as he sensed the faraway fonslots beating louder as they drew closer. He and Repede rose on alert, with the dark-haired boy gripping Flynn's hand tightly, frantically scanning the area in all directions.

"You're a tricky one to find, you know." Yuri heard a man's voice speak. It wasn't too deep, but it still gave him the creeps. "Any further and those wolves would have eaten you both alive." Much like Repede earlier, Yuri could only make out the shadowy form of the person who spoke, his arms probably crossed, though he was unable to see him clearly. He heard a few clinks of metal and recognized them to be armor. Great, an idiotic knight decided to ruin his already cranky mood. He thought it was the ones he encountered before, but it turned out to be someone else. "Who are you?" The black-wearing child asked lowly.

"A knight of Zaphias." The man's voice answered, which made Yuri roll his eyes. "I was notified two children and a War Dog had left the city when it was clearly stated that no one left the city's walls. You realize how dangerous it was for you two to be out here?"

Yuri scoffed. "It was more dangerous at Zaphias than out here."

"That hardly seems legit." The man answered rather calmly, but Yuri detected a hint of irritation in his voice.

"So? What's it to you that two kids leave the city? It's not like you knights really give a crap about us in the Lower Quarter."

"Oh?" The man sounded curious, which seemed…unusual.

"Pfft, 'Oh'? Is that all you have to say?" Yuri glared, even though he couldn't see the man. "You idiots really drive me up a wall. I can't believe you. Making kids like us suffer out alone unable to get through the gate. Not to mention, treating us like dirt while so-called 'patrolling'. Oh yeah, that's _real_ work there." The dark-haired progeny fumed, tempted to cross his arms. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm only a knight under Commandant Alexei. Surely he could do something about it."

"Yeah right! I can bet all my money's worth that guy won't do crap. He's acting all high and mighty…"

"And, how do you know he won't?"

Sighing, Yuri shook his head, refusing to answer the question and compressed his rage as he turned to Flynn. Dang, even in the darkness, Flynn managed to glow a bit. "Come on, Flynn, Repede. Let's find somewhere to sleep for tonight, away from this imbecile." Yuri suddenly regretted saying that word when Flynn egged on the word he had spoken. During his light explanation and evasion of the real meaning behind the word "imbecile", the boys hadn't gone too far when the man attempted to stop them. Man, he was becoming rather annoying.

"Stop the both of you."

"And why should we listen to you?" Yuri huffed irritably. "We don't have to listen to you."

Unfortunately, Yuri got his answer about why he should have stopped and listened. Repede crouched low again and whipped out his dagger instantaneously as he slashed through the flesh of another monster that dared tried attacking. The black-haired youngster grumbled again as he heard the return of the snarling wolf monsters. They came back, and with reinforcements, too. "Ah man! Not them again!" He complained. Yuri spun around, his sword meeting the fangs of a wolf that attempted to lunge at him from his left. "Not a chance, ratball!" Yuri growled, clenching his right fist and punching the beast's abdomen three times, the last being an uppercut to drive the foul creature away. Mentally, the boy complained about perfecting that move and making it faster somehow, someday.

He overheard other human grunts and clashes with flesh that wasn't his. That man must have been close enough to be attacked by the same pack of wolves. Hm, perhaps if they were lucky enough, they could slip out of the wolves' radar and let the high and mighty knight handle all the work. Besides, if he was looking for them, he could fight their fights for now. Unfortunately, as Yuri was about to enact his delinquent idea, he was stopped by the blond-haired boy that was his brother.

"Y-Yuri!" Flynn cried, having found his brother's arm and clutching it tight.

"S-stop Flynn! You're making me wobble!"

"B-but I-I-I'm scared!"

"Don't be! I'm here to protect you, I promise!"

"Monsters so scary, Yuri! I-I-I want home."

"Me too, Flynn. Me too—whoa!"

Yuri's senses flickered and the boy managed to move himself and Flynn out-of-the-way of a Fireball spell. Well, at least they had some light… briefly, though. That knight was a crazy fool, trying to set him aflame. How dare he try to make barbecue out of him! "Hey! Watch your aim, old man!" Yuri shouted irritably. "You could have burned me and my brother!" The boy heard something of a scoff from the older occupant, which ticked him off even more. "Aim better next time! Come on Flynn—" Yuri tried reaching for his brother's hand, but it wasn't there. What? The dark-haired boy's eyes widened when a dreadful sensation was looming over him.

With the sound of thunder booming overhead and the rainwater coming down a little more than before… This was an ominous sign.

"Yuri!" Flynn shouted, snapping the boy to direct his attention to where he had heard Flynn's voice. It was…behind him? Yuri spun around to find Flynn clumsily running towards him, his blue eyes filled with horror. What? Why was he—? And then… it… it… happened. Flynn shoved the boy down; much like Yuri did earlier when the boar-like creatures attacked. But, that wasn't Yuri's concern. It was like a slow motion effect was put into place, like someone hit the pause button on Yuri's mental VCR. As he was falling backwards, a wolf had come from completely nowhere, its target being Yuri, but Flynn… Flynn…pushed him out-of-the-way and—and…

Flynn's eyes; they squeezed shut, tears falling from them.

Flynn's face; contorted with pain.

Flynn's scream; it roared with intensity.

…And Flynn's blood; it splattered all around him.

Time seemed to have frozen for Yuri when his brother fell upon him. What…what just happened? No, he knew what happened. Flynn pushed him, taking the hit that was meant for him. Flynn was crying because Yuri failed to protect himself. Flynn was bleeding because Yuri failed. Flynn screamed because he didn't…Flynn was _hurt_ because of his _idiocy_. No, no, no. No-no-no-no-no. It…It can't be. No, no, no, _no_. Yuri couldn't even feel his own breath; he couldn't even feel his own senses anymore. They dulled out the second the blond cried. He could see his hand moving to gently brush through Flynn's hair. Was that the rain falling now? He didn't give a shit now.

"…F-Flynn…"

Nothing.

"Flynn…S-say something…"

"…Yuri…safe." Those blue eyes opened slowly, staring into the grey ones that belonged to his brother. "Flynn…help. Flynn…do good?"

"…Flynn…You did—no…that was _stupid_, Flynn!"

"…It…hurts Yuri. I…I hurt so much. I…want to…sleep…" The little blond-boy's eyes were growing heavier. Yuri's heartbeat was increasing. No, no, no.

"No, Flynn, don't close your eyes. Stay with me, please!"

Flynn tried, tried so hard to listen to Yuri. He couldn't stop crying, the pain was just too much. The rain was coming down, unusually. It soon drenched him, washing the blood away, but it didn't mend the wound. Yuri, in his wild panic, frantically pulled in seventh fonons, not caring if he consumed an enormous amount of aer, and began his attempt to pour it all into the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "…Yuri."

"Stop talking, Flynn."

"I…happy I help you…" Flynn's eyes were wavering. "Don't cry…" The sapphire orbs were slowly rolling back, the eyelids drooping. "Everything… will be f…ine."

"Flynn! Flynn! Open your eyes! Flynn!" Yuri pleaded, over and over, shaking the boy, his voice shaky. No, no. This wasn't right. This wasn't—fair! Flynn, he couldn't die. He had so much to learn! No, why did it have to be Flynn!? "Flynn! Y-you can't leave me! Please, please, open your eyes! Don't…don't! Don't l-l-leave me all alone…"

Nothing would come out of the boy's mouth anymore.

Heavy tears rolled down Yuri's cheeks as he held onto Flynn tightly, never letting go. The rainwater was becoming a downpour now, as if to echo the feelings the dark-haired boy was experiencing. Unbeknown to him, a swirling mass of fonons and aer were gathering around the boy. His fonslots accepted each one of them, bending them to his uncontrolled will. It was at that moment, Yuri lost himself in the consumption of his own power and mind.

"**FLYYYYNNNNN**!"

-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-

Damn that boy! Origin was annoying as hell as an incarnate. Why did he have to be so infuriating? But, that would change the moment Alexei got his hands on him. Well, _whenever_ he got his hands on him. It was much too late, however, when the wolves migrated back and with reinforcements. Hmph, pathetic excuses for a fight. Alexei cleaved through them like a hot knife through butter, dancing around them with ease. He noticed the dog, Repede, was back into the fight and now the boy Yuri was as well. It seemed the Original was pulling his own weight for a while until the unexpected happened.

The young Master Gailardia lookalike jumped in the way of the child Origin, pushing him out-of-the-way and shielding him. Alexei growled dangerously. Stupid, dumb child, how foolish are you to do something as idiotic as that? Before he could even utter a word to reprimand, he noticed the rainfall was becoming quite heavier than normal, and noting the blank expression Yuri was pulling now…

The wolf that maimed the innocent blond had done something he was planning to do at some point—attack Origin's heart. Perhaps, not in the same method, but the cunning beast did its job well. Seeing it was about to attack the boys again, the dog Repede rushed it with an arte of his own, standing protectively in front of his young charges again. However, the wolves weren't the problem anymore. Alexei felt large quantities of fonons swirling into one specific location, and the aer consumption didn't pass him by, either. Yuri's body was flickering on and off; light particles were floating around him, in the shape of small daggers. They blinked and faded, but returned in full force after a few seconds.

His dark-hair flashed for an instant, and in its place, it was a light brown color? What?

Alexei and even the monstrous wolves didn't dare to move as the phenomenon continued. Was he witnessing Origin's release of his true form? The War Dog hesitated a moment, but the next thing they knew, Yuri screamed. It was the other boy's name, but it wasn't _his_ voice. No, the voice, while still having the tone of a child attached, was quite deeper. That wasn't "Yuri's" scream but Origin's scream. The enormous amount of fonons concentrated in one place, however, was dangerous. With that, it could even destroy… no! It wasn't time now! "Calm yourself!" Alexei shouted, but the intensity of the light and sound only grew. Damn it, if he didn't do something, he would cause a—

The light shot a beam into the sky, and the small form of Yuri's body still holding onto Flynn's was going up with it. Alexei could only look for a second. The third fonons were everywhere, and it whipped around the former black haired boy's light brown hair, making it wildly clash against itself. But, those eyes of his. They were not grey, or black, or whatever color they were supposed to be.

They were red.

Alexei knew now, that Yuri wasn't Yuri the child, but Yuri as Origin. The original sentient was acting on its mortal feelings! Flynn's death was making it unstable—rightfully so—but this wasn't the best time for a child with supreme powers to go out of control. The War Dog, Repede, was being caught up in the light that the Commandant now realized was a hyperresonance. Damn it all, had he forgotten? The boy Yuri had used the seventh fonon, and because he and Flynn were Seventh Fonists in some way or another, they were causing a hyperresonance together unintentionally. And, if he had to guess, this also awakened Yuri as Origin. No! He couldn't let it escape! He had to stop it somehow before it finished!

"No!" He shouted, but it was all too late. The beam of light took the three within its grasp in a split second, vanishing from sight. The ground in which the three had been standing was charred, and needless to say, the wolves that were unfortunate enough to be close were disintegrated into nothing but particles of aer.

Alexei cursed himself over and over, growling. "A hyperresonance of that caliber is sure to be absorbed into the Planet Storm. That boy…and his companions…are most likely dead." He closed his ears and fumed internally. "…Damn it." He lost the sentient, and it was probably for good. Even if he was the original king, he was still a boy, in a mortal body. Even if he were to 'die', he would simply restore himself back to normal, and return to wherever the sentient beings resided, thus his plans coming to an abrupt closure. That is, until it decided to reincarnate itself. The chance of that happening were zilch… The only thought that went through the Commandant's mind now was everything but pure, sane thoughts.

It seems he'll have to get in touch with young Commandant Grants soon about the situation.

* * *

Notes:

1. I know, Flynn said "Baticul" in its Japanese Katakana: Bachikaru. That was intentional. And in case you people were wondering, the words _crevasse_ means "a deep crack" and _cradlesong_ means "a lullaby". I made up Flynn's name meaning sorta; it really means "red" in Irish, I'm aware but does Flynn-cakes look red to anyone else? Didn't think so. And with that, I stole the name "Faolán" which means "little wolf". Scifo…I also made up its Ancient Ispanian meaning, too, and Lowell is "wolf", we all know that.

2. I'm sure I screwed up the Great War's involvement somewhere in this, but I honestly tried.

3. Yes, "Terca Lumeldrant" is so unoriginal probably… but it had a nice ring to it to me the many times I kept repeating it.

4. Again, I'm sorry for any out-of-character personalities and descriptions of Vesperian places. The Vesperia Let's Plays on Youtube did little for me in terms of visualizing the locations. If you're confused about the period when "two months later" begins, it starts after Yuri and Flynn met last chapter. Sorry about that, I tried to keep it flowing.

5. I know I said only Ilyccia would be apart of this, but I figured it wouldn't be the same without the rest of Terca Lumireis, so therefore I modified my outline plans for this chapter and included them. "Ether Lands" are the continents of Auldrant; "Other Lands" are the continents of Terca Lumireis. Reasons being because ether means "an imaginary substance that was thought to pervade in space" and/or "the upper regions of space" according to my hard cover dictionary. With the fonbelt floating around the globe in space of the world of Abyss, it seemed somewhat fitting.

6. I still don't understand why I listen to Pokémon songs when I type. Especially the Pokémon Conquest OST. But I did have on Pandora Radio on the Orchestra station mostly. Tales of the Abyss song "Guidepost" was used for the whole event of the hyperresonance, so if you guys listen to that while reading, it actually helps the mood!

7. If you were wondering about the hyphens and lowercase X's I use as page markers; two "-x-x-x-" means I'm switching to another point of view of another character. "x-x-x" will mean a memory/flashback scene. "x-x" continues the different point of view other than Yuri's. And, of course, the single "-x-x-x-" just means a time skip/new scene. I will try to keep the Auldrant calendar when the new scene takes place days or so later.

There you have it. I apologize. I've been busy with life; this is why this update is late. Yikes, this chapter is over 20k, without the ANs. Whoa, lol. Anyway. I hope you've enjoyed this and thank you for all favorites, follows, and everything else. They're all appreciated. (: I apologize for any mistakes. I tried proof-reading by myself again.

Edited on 6/11/2013


	4. Sacred Light's Return

Sorry for holding this update as a hostage—I mean for not posting it. Complications and all, and my beta is busy with exams, I didn't want to overload him. Thank you all for the favorites, follows and reviews to this; I really appreciate them. (: Let's get this chapter on a roll! It's been proofed by me; sorry! Main "theme" of this chapter would be Once In A Red Moon by Secret Garden and Another Realm by Kevin Kern. Both are really wonderful instrumental/orchestration songs. Anyway, enjoy~

Sacred Light's Return

Chapter 4

-x-x-x-

**ND 2006 – Gnome Redecan, Undineday 19th**

-x-x-x-

It was a peaceful morning that day, when the boys were in their room. When the night approached Zaphias, they decided to play a game of swords, which Yuri had been instructing his little brother, Flynn. It was past their bedtime, but the deviant progeny couldn't contain his excitement. It didn't have real swords of course; they were just paper swords that the dark-haired boy made from paper. "Flynn, look at this!" The young blond heard his brother call to him. His large, blue eyes found the jubilant black-haired boy whom sprouted from his spot to give a paper sword to him. "I made this one for you. Take it!" The simple command was enough for Flynn to understand; he took the paper-crafted blade, staring at it quizzically.

"What this do, Yuri?" Flynn asked, holding up the hand-made paper-craft.

"It's your sword, Flynn. We're gonna play Vigilantes!"

The blond stared at the older boy in utter confusion. He'd never heard that word before, really. Was it something Yuri wanted him to know? When the dark-haired boy noticed the awkward stare he was getting, he instantly rounded on the other, grinning. "I forgot you're just learning new words…" Yuri admitted, which Flynn simply tilted his head, even more addled.

"Vigilante means someone who does things without someone telling them what to do… uhh…" Yuri tried explaining, but knowing he couldn't exactly how to simplify it so that Flynn could understand it. "W-well it means that you do punish somebody without being apart of the higher ups. Yeah, that's what it means!" The blue-eyed child stayed quiet, absorbing what Yuri was telling him, formatting it in his memory and piecing its proper pronunciation together and its meaning. He could tell this word might be very important, so he figured he would have to try extra hard to learn it fast so he and Yuri could use it more often.

"Yuri beat up people and not is good guy?" Flynn asked, summarizing what he thought was right.

"Uh… something like that. But, uh, not me! I'm not gonna beat up people just because though!" The grey-eyed child laughed a little. "We're just playing pretend. Puh-ree-ten-D. Pretend! It means we're playing a game for fun!" Thankfully, Flynn knew the meaning of 'fun' already, and was now 'registering' the pronunciation of the word 'pretend'. Wow, Yuri sure knew many words. "So, wanna play it with me, Flynn?"

The blond smiled, pushing himself up to stand and picked up his paper sword. "I play Yuri. We team and beat up bad people."

"Yeah!" Yuri fist pumped, grinning as he took his own paper sword. "Our first target…is that giant blue pie-eating monster!" Yuri gasped in feign shock. He pointed his sword at Repede, who was simply lying down on a comfortable mat. He raised his head at the sound of his young master's voice. "He's eaten all of our pies! We must have our vengeance! Let's get him, Flynn!" The younger child and Yuri both went up to the resting war dog trainee, swords in hand. However, Repede sat up; apparently, he took the hint their little mischievous game was starting and booked it out of the room. "He's escaping! After him!" Yuri shouted, raising the paper sword above his head as he darted out of the room to give chase to 'the giant blue pie-eating monster'.

Flynn attempted to run as well, but tumbled after three steps forward each time. A few maids that worked in the Captain's home immediately moved out of the way of their antics, though tried to stop them. One of them helped Flynn back to his feet, having asked if he was all right; Flynn's reply was a simple nod. The blond tried again, successful this time around, but had trouble keeping up. Still, he chased after Yuri, who was chasing after Repede. The boys were hooting and hollering in excitement, pursuing the blue dog everywhere all around the Captain's home, laughing in utter joy.

Wow, this was _really_ fun! Flynn only wished this night would never end, so that he, Yuri and Repede would play this game forever—!

"Hey now, I hope you boys aren't running around in here!" came a deep man's voice, full of authority. The two kids and canine immediately stopped their game, which had eventually changed into a game of 'Chase Repede'. The maids that had been trying to catch them also stopped and bowed to the owner as he stepped in.

"Captain!" Yuri beamed brightly, his eyes widened when the man came in. "Y-you're home kinda early…"

"Yuri, it's well over nine at night. Why aren't you and Flynn in the bed?" Nylen questioned his eyes upon the guilty children as they lowered their heads.

"Uh… We can't sleep?" The dark-haired child attempted, chuckling.

"I do believe that is something you'd say when you're guilty as charged, Yuri. In addition, you dragged Flynn into this? Come now, you know better than that."

"Well, we weren't tired." Yuri half repeated, frowning that their game was ruined.

Nylen sighed, shaking his head. "You're both growing boys. You need your rest. Besides, it'll be very busy tomorrow morning."

"Why?" Yuri was about to say, but surprisingly enough it had been Flynn's voice. He attempted to soak in the ongoing conversation between the older man and his adoptive sibling. Nylen looked at the blond-haired boy, grinning lightly. The child was improving in his capabilities since they—as in Yuri and Repede—brought the orphan home from Baticul. It had been two months since then, and the kind Captain had been studying the blond's actions ever so closely. "Why we sleep, Nylen? What happen next tomorrow?"

"Ha-ha-ha, tomorrow morning the Princess Estellise will be visiting Baticul, and the Royal Guard will be escorting Her Majesty there. I've been assigned to the task, and you boys will be coming with me." Nylen answered, to which Yuri grumbled.

"Ugh, not there again!" He groaned. "Why there?"

"The Princess is to visit her cousin in Baticul, that's why. And I cannot leave you both here by yourselves with just the maids."

"We can take care of ourselves!" Yuri huffed proudly.

"And how will you go about that, Yuri? Steal food, hm?" Nylen eyed the boy.

"…Yea—I…I mean no. I'm gonna buy stuff for me and Flynn and Repede to eat."

"And, with what money, Yuri?"

The boy fidgeted a little bit under the Captain's scrutiny. "…With my allowance…?" He said, and then added, "I can help around with the older people and work for it. If I do a good job, they'll pay me some money. Then I can buy food. But if that doesn't work, I'll steal food from those stupid rich people."

The ash-blond knight sighed heavily at the kid's determination, and of course, carelessness of a choice. "Yuri, you cannot steal. That is against the laws here, and very much everywhere else in the world. You could be thrown in prison or worse, and that's simply just for stealing." The child rolled his eyes, putting his arms behind his head, as he looked away, only paying half attention. "The last few times you were caught, I had to apologize to the vendors. I don't care about my image or anything, but yours and Flynn's safety."

"Yeah, I don't care about going to jail or whatever. As long as we can eat, right?"

"Yuri…" Nylen deadpanned and stared down at him with a disapproving expression.

"All right, all right! Fine! We'll go, sheesh…" _At least we might get to see Luke again._ The dark-haired child added in thought.

"Good. Now, let's get you two to bed. You too, Repede!" The war dog trainee walked up to the older man and followed them back to the bedroom in which the two boys and their canine shared. "Repede, your father is at the stables now for the night with his unit on night watch. He'll be back in the morning." Nylen told the dog, who simply wagged his tag in response. His old man was busy, and one reason the blue-furred dog wanted to continue his training. He wanted to be beside his father and help him protect those he truly cares about. If he hurried with his training, he'd be that much closer to sticking by his old man. The thought excited him every day, and every time he'd have to go to the daily regimens, he'd put that much effort into finishing. Lambert would be so proud of him once he sees his son in the same ranks as an official war dog…

"Here we are," Nylen's voice partially interrupted the dog's positive thoughts. The beds in which the two boys shared were bunk beds, specifically made for them at the Captain's request.

"Man, I don't want to go to bed…" Yuri grumbled as he climbed the small ladder that led to his top bunk.

"No bed, not sleepy me." Flynn said, as he didn't climb onto his bottom bunk, trying to repeat Yuri's defiance, which the Captain chuckled heartily. Of the two, it was very hard to get upset at Flynn.

"Heheh…" The dark-haired boy chortled to himself. He just loved how he rubbed off on Flynn so much.

"Now, now, you two." The ash-blond Captain lightly reprimanded as he lifted Flynn to his bed. "It's important you two go to sleep." Nylen assisted in tucking the two boys in their beds, Yuri's first, Flynn's second. Repede simply curled back up on his pillow from before.

"Right…" Yuri sighed, his grey eyes upon the ceiling of the room. Before the older man went out of the room and turn off the light that was a blastia within a lamp, the dark-haired progeny turned his head towards Nylen. "Hey, Captain. I got a question."

"Yes, Yuri?"

"How come you keep me and Flynn here in Zaphias?"

"What do you mean, Yuri?"

The older child lightly shifted so he was sitting up in his bed. "I mean, like you don't let us go anywhere else. There's probably a lot of other places we can go to. I know there's a bunch of other places in Terca Lumireis. Like, Aspio. We've never been there before," the new words got Flynn interested—he sat up too, dwelling on Yuri's words as the boy in question continued, "but I've read it in some of the books you have here. I actually hate reading of places I haven't been to. I wanna go there. I know Flynn does too. And like… before we met Flynn, you kept saying it was important that I stay hidden and stuff." When the boy's grey eyes locked onto the blue ones of the Captain, he wondered why the man looked so stiff all of a sudden.

"…Captain?"

"Yuri," Nylen began slowly, shifting out of his unusual stiffness. "There's no reason why you cannot go to anywhere else. One day, I'll take you boys there." He smiled reassuringly, "however, right now, I'm afraid that I must keep you boys here for the time being. Especially you, Yuri."

"…Huh? Why?"

Nylen closed his eyes for a brief moment, contemplating over his words before he spoke them. "Yuri, do you know what your name means in Ancient Ispanian?"

The boy blinked in light surprise but nodded after a moment. "Yeah. That was the first thing you taught me as soon as I started talking full sentences. It means '_laborer of the archaic original provenience'._ What does the meaning of my name have to do with this?" The Captain didn't reply immediately, which got the black-haired child upset. "Captain? Why did you ask me that? What does it—?"

"Yuri… One day you will realize it. Why your name means what it does, and what purpose you will fulfill when you get older." Nylen said as he approached the child, smiling at Flynn, who was sponging in everything silently. "You have something nobody in this world has. It's very special ability."

"I-I do? What is it?" Yuri asked, beaming with new-found excitement. Curious Flynn stared up in wonder as well. Why did Yuri's name have such high importance? And, why did it mean something really big?

"Settle down," Nylen told the squeamish child, supplying a chuckle. "How about this; I'll tell you in the morning only if you go to sleep. How does that sound?" Yuri's glee suddenly melted into a shallow grumble, much like when one draws a beautiful drawing on paper only for it to be crumbled up and thrown away.

"You _always_ get me with that!" The impatient grey-eyed boy complained indignantly, narrowing his eyes.

"Of course I do. Good night boys, you sleep tight." Nylen said, turning off the blastia-powered lamp and closing the bedroom door. Only the light of the moon's rays illuminated portions of the room, shining upon the boys faces—just a little, though. The silence that floated through the occupied room continued for a while longer until Yuri spoke up.

"Hey, Flynn, are you sleeping yet?" He asked, and soon wondered why he asked such a dumb question.

"I not sleepy, Yuri." came the littler boy's reply from underneath him. Those sky-blue eyes of his seemingly glowed in the dark and so did his hair. Well, it seemed like that every time.

"Oh, okay." _I wonder what the Captain will tell me tomorrow. Maybe my name was the name of some cool hero from the, what's it called? The Dawn Age? Or like, someone really important had the same name as mine._ Yuri wondered, his thoughts racing giddily. It didn't last long as Flynn's voice spoke up a few moments after.

"Yuri?"

The boy by name halted his thoughts and leaned over the bedpost slightly, just so his face was visible to the blond, and to meet eye to eye. "Yes, Flynn? What is it?" Flynn leaned over too, just so he and Yuri were looking at one another, even in the limited light provided by the moon. He was thinking, thinking of what to say to his brother, though the exact phrase and words were putting themselves together. Flynn lowered his gaze, trying to form his question mentally, hoping he would say it right. He knew Yuri was waiting for him with that ever-so grey gaze from his eyes. Those same, grey eyes that Flynn was used to ever since his memory could remember them, of course.

"Uh, Yuri. Why your name…long meaning? Why Flyn—I have not long meaning name?"

The dark-haired boy blinked in light confusion for himself, trying to rethink the actual meaning and words of his adoptive sibling's words. It didn't take long to process, and Yuri smiled a little when he figured it out. "Why does my name have a long meaning?" He parroted slowly so Flynn could understand. When he received a nod, the usual delinquent of the two continued, "That's what it means in Ancient Ispanian, Flynn. Your name probably has a long meaning too. We just uh…shortened it."

"Oh." Flynn said while he stared up at Yuri.

"I honestly don't want to go back to Baticul." The dark-haired child groaned in complaint and under his breath. "But at least Luke will be there. Maybe we'll see him again."

"Luke?"

"Yeah, Flynn. You remember him?"

The boy by name went into deep thought again, trying to access his memory once more. He remembered many things; the colors in the sky, the colors anyone wore, Yuri's face and his voice, Repede's face, Nylen's face and even Lambert's. Those were the only four he had to remember and learn about, as they were the only ones important. He also had to learn about different kinds of food names, their taste, and how they felt, but those lessons came later after Flynn had to learn about Nylen, Yuri, Lambert and Repede. Now, the younger blond recalled the faint cluster of red that was someone's hair, remembering that it belonged to a boy who was about his size, and had green eyes just like the grass.

"Luke…Red hair?"

"Yup! That's him, Flynn." Yuri nodded, "maybe we'll see him again." He parroted his previous thought, smiling lightly.

Another wave of silence brought itself upon the room, and even though Yuri lied back down, hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling, he honestly couldn't go back to sleep. Neither could Flynn for that matter, as the blond returned to his former position upon the bed, staring up at the backside of the upper bed that belonged to Yuri. The night was surely going really slow for some reason, and both had some form of excitement welling up in the pits of their stomachs. It was just too hard to sleep now! However, even the young must rest as per nature, and thus the contagion of yawns erupted between the two after a few minutes of silence.

"Hey…Flynn…"

"…Yes, Yuri?"

The dark-haired boy blinked, very surprised. That was the quickest response from Flynn he'd ever gotten, and it sounded so…mature. For the lack of better words, of course. The instant reply was great, and Yuri managed to shake the brief shock aside. "I've noticed something…" He was now half expecting to get a quick reply again.

"What have thinking you now?" Flynn asked, the order of his words incorrect, but the dark-headed child understood anyway. It may have not been immediate like the first, but it was good as ever.

"We should try and change the world."

"Change? World?"

"Yes." Yuri suppressed his yawn as best as he could, the thought very clear in his reach. He felt he better tell Flynn now than wait later. "We change it. I don't like how the nobles act all high and mighty. They're too greedy and keep all the good stuff to themselves." Yuri continued, his eyes still on the ceiling of the room. "I wanted to join the knights when I got older… Maybe work my way into there and then like…change everything. That's why I have the Captain train me when he can." Another wave of silence, though Yuri took it as Flynn was sponging in what he just said. After a fair moment, he went on, "I want to change how the world is, Flynn. So that nobles treat the lower class citizens like actual people and are fair. I want to get rid of this nasty injustice and prejudice and discrimination. I know I'm too young… and you probably have no idea what I just said either but I—"

"Yuri, I join knights and help you too." Flynn said just a few seconds after Yuri trailed off. "Yuri, we make promise?"

"H-huh?" The black-haired boy wondered, still trying to get over his reactivated shock once again. He looked over his bedside to see the blond staring up at him with an unusually serious expression. "Flynn… did you understand what I meant? And what promise…?"

"…I…" The younger boy began, trailing just a little, but regained his thoughts much faster than he didn't think was possible. "Yuri sounds very hurt by mean people. I…want to help you, Yuri. Make world nice for everyone. That's… what Yuri wants?"

Wow, of all the greatest things in the world he could say, this has to be the best ones yet. Yuri, however, still couldn't get over his surprise and reformed joy that bubbled within his chest. Flynn was learning, and quicker than before. This was great news, and adding to that, he understood. Okay, maybe he just summarized what he was saying, but really, that was the best so far. "Y-yeah, Flynn. That's what I mean."

Flynn smiled genuinely for his adoptive sibling. "We make…good promise?"

"…Do you know what 'promise' means, Flynn?"

"…u-uh…" The boy with blue eyes stammered, looking away as he tried to think, again. "We say something and then do it?" He guessed. Wow, that's the second surprise in one night for dear little Lowell. It appears young Flynn was either studying behind his back or something. Still, this made Yuri very proud of his adopted sibling.

"Yeah, that's about right, Flynn. It means we make an agreement, like say something, and then we don't do it, or do it because we both said so." Yuri summarized again, noticing the blond nod as he listened.

"Okay, Yuri."

Yuri smiled, reaching down over his bedside, with his left arm. Flynn tilted his head, but noticed the gesture and for some reason, reached up with his right hand. When both of their hands touched—Yuri being careful not to fall off—the darker haired child spoke up.

"Flynn, this is gonna be our promise. Let's promise to change the world, so that it can be a better place for everybody to live in. Let's change it so that nobody gets left behind, and that everyone can be treated as equals."

In that same manner, Flynn smiled again, ever so softly. "Yuri, I promise. I join knights too, and promise to help Yuri make world nice."

"I promise too, Flynn. Nothing will get in our way if we work at it." That's right; nothing will get in our way. And if something does, we'll knock it down together!

_Because we're Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo—the two brothers that are gonna make Terca Lumireis and Auldrant a better place!_

-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-

Flynn was utterly terrified.

He, Repede and Yuri had escaped the city of Zaphias because someone had hurt Captain Nylen, as Yuri told him. They left so they could go back to 'Bachikaru', as the blond put it. He honestly didn't know how to pronounce that. First, they had ran across the grasslands that Yuri told him were called the Mayoccian Plains, and after a good thirty minutes, had stopped to take a break. The sun was still overhead, so they had time until it got dark. Yuri told him it would be getting dangerous and really scary when night came, so they'd have to make a campfire. That idea didn't really bode well with Flynn, but he trusted his big brother so much. He knew Yuri would protect him until things were right again. After all, Yuri was so skilled and so strong. Flynn thought nothing could beat him.

However, when they were just a quarter ways across the grassy plains, two, purple boar monster things came out of nowhere and tried to ambush them! Flynn's heart raced—in fear—when his blue eyes landed upon them. They were so horrifying in appearance. Repede was growling as he prepared himself and Yuri held onto the blond tightly while he took out his light blade. It happened so fast—the boar things charged and nearly rammed into the dark-haired boy. The sudden jerk in the turn Yuri made cost him his usually perceptive footing, and he lost his grip on Flynn! The blond tumbled down on the ground as did his adoptive brother. The monster took this chance of weakness and charged again, now heading right for the blond! Flynn's eyes widened as he stayed rooted in place, terrified.

"No!" The golden-haired boy heard Yuri's voice shout; the black-haired boy lunged forward himself right in front of the creature, effectively protecting Flynn from the attack as he shoved him away with all he could. His right arm took the brunt of the attack, and Yuri skidded a few ways off, howling in pain as he clutched his injury. There was blood running down his arm where the boar's horn impacted, and Yuri could feel light tears from the corner of his eyes.

"Yuri!" Flynn shouted in mad panic, unable to resist his own tears. Why were monsters attacking them? They weren't hurting anybody! They just…! They just had to get to this port place where they'll be able to go to 'Bachikaru' again! Repede grunted in frustration—because his first master was nowhere near his second master—and rushed by Flynn's side, snarling angrily. The second boar monster caught up with him, glaring its own demonic red eyes upon its two targets. When the first boar was rushing at Yuri, the second one charged up as well, coming straight for Flynn and Repede! The blond cried a loud, covering his eyes as he sunk to his knees, scared. He'd always seen his brother and the war dog fight before, but this? This was _seriously_ different than the last couple of times!

The darker head child slowly stood up, brushing the faint tears from his eyes and narrowed those grey orbs dangerously at the boar creature that rammed him. He readied himself, clutching his machete-sword in his hands. He barely stole a glance at his companions, knowing Repede was going to defend the other boy just fine.

Flynn didn't know what else to think when the fighting continued on. He just wanted to go back home where the Captain was. Where it was safe. But, didn't Yuri say they had to leave Zaphias? But, that was where home was, right? More hacking and slashing sounds echoed around him, and suddenly stopped after a few moments. Flynn frighteningly opened his sapphire orbs, coming eye to eye with a similar pair that belonged to the war dog trainee. Wow, the dog sure was fast when it came to killing monsters. "Oh… Repede hurt the monster." Flynn squeaked timidly, his eyes wary of his surroundings now. Where was his brother? He didn't see anything from before because he covered up his eyes. Where did that other monster go to? Was Yuri in danger? "We help Yuri fight now!" The light-haired youngster said rather defensively.

Repede instantly turned his head once he barked in agreement to his younger master's exclamation towards the direction of the missing boy. Flynn followed the dog's line of sight and gasped. Yuri had been rammed yet again by the boar, this time however, he managed to dodge, though hadn't gotten away fully. His right leg suffered minor consequences of the attack. The blond was about to shout again in warning and worry, but didn't quite make it. Yuri lunged forward and thrust his sword at the creature with all his might. It screeched loudly, its blood gutting out from impact. Taking the initiative, he jolted his sword upward like an uppercut, which felled the beast thereafter. Exhausted, Yuri shakily slumped down, barely able to keep standing. His right leg was hurting, and he was sure he was bleeding there, too.

Unable to take it any longer, Flynn rushed towards Yuri, terrified of what had transpired. "Y-Yuri…!" He cried as he attempted to run—again—and failing miserably. He tripped over something, probably his own feet or a rock he couldn't tell, and fell flat on his face against the ground with an audible 'thud' and muffled cry of "ow" along with it. "Flynn!" the golden-haired child heard his brother yell out, hurrying to his side as quickly as possible. Yuri helped him up, checking over him to make sure he was all right. "Flynn, are you okay?!"

He was just fine, of course. But Flynn never voiced his well-being. Instead, he buried his head against Yuri's chest, clamping onto him tight. He never wanted to let go, afraid he would lose him or he would get hurt. Flynn couldn't bear losing Yuri; he was…meant everything he could imagine to him. The younger boy started sobbing and shaking, staying in that spot. He wasn't a crybaby or anything like that. No, Flynn didn't cry unless Yuri was hurt in some way, or if he _felt_ Yuri being hurt. The black-haired sibling of his didn't ever voice out his worries or anything of the sort. But, for some reason, Flynn could feel his emotions. They were faint at times, but it was like he understood Yuri's pain, and his only response was in tears of worry. Because Yuri was hurt now, it was truly painful, and Flynn was in pain, too. His tears were also fueled by fear—the fear of losing someone close.

"Flynn, it's okay. I'm okay now." Yuri said, trying to soothe the sobbing boy, but that hadn't much effect.

"…But…Yuri…you…and…hurt…" Flynn tried to say, but his words couldn't formulate correctly underneath his weary voice now. Yuri managed to pull them apart, putting his hands on the other's shoulders, staring into Flynn's eyes with a reassuring expression. Somehow, he did. Man, that Yuri was a talented actor if he could pull off that mask.

"Flynn, I'm all right. I'm not dead. You don't have to cry anymore." Tears still slid down the lighter haired boy's cheeks, though they were starting to fall fewer, just a tiny bit. "I have some ouchies, but they'll be better in no time! Okay?" Flynn knew those words Yuri said. They were some of his favorite words to say when he got hurt. The blue-eyed child wasn't going to fall for that again.

"But, Yuri is hurt in two places." The blond pointed out bluntly, his face being unusually serious again.

"Y-yeah, but they'll go away soon." The older brother said rather quickly. "So c-come on, Flynn. We have to get going again before it gets dark out." But he wasn't going to budge from his spot. His eyes were concentrating on those wounds of Yuri's he saw, and sensed because of…something was speaking to him. It sounded like a booming noise, those sounds that littler kids would bang on as toys. But, it was in his head. Where was it coming from? Flynn decided to ignore the weird beat and focus on the injuries. He recalled some teachings Nylen and the boy in question taught him, which lead to the instruction of manipulating the energy around them, called fonons and aer. Whenever Yuri was gone for whatever reason, Flynn would try to practice on gathering fonons into his body, which the kind Captain said were "Fon Slots". Everybody in the world had them, except inanimate objects and some trees. Flynn pulled in those energies into his own fon slots, preparing himself to use the technique he learned all by himself.

"Flynn?" He heard Yuri call to him, but that would have to wait until later. "Flynn? What are you—?"

The light haired child's fingertips were enveloped in a greenish-white light, the energy of the fonons he gathered, coupled by the aer, was powering through him. He touched Yuri's arm, allowing the energy from his hands to flow into Yuri's injuries. The boy heard the darker haired one gasp lightly in surprise when he noticed the brilliance of energy. Flynn kept staring at where the wound was, waiting until he sensed no more pain emitting from his older brother. When he felt the right arm fine, Flynn concentrated on healing Yuri's right leg, waiting again until the wound was gone. He hadn't felt beads of sweat running down his face; he was so focused on getting Yuri better. "…Flynn…You can stop now. My wound is gone now." Yuri said, hoping to snap the blond out of his trance. After a moment, the Scifo boy stopped, dispelling the fonons, though couldn't exactly stop the flow of aer running through his fon slots. Maybe they'll stop eventually if he didn't use it.

"Yuri, I…heal your wound."

"Yeah, you did, Flynn. How did you do that?"

The boy by name lightly tilted his head before he recalled the memory and quite clearly, too. "Yuri, you show me and Nylen show me how before." Was his answer.

It took Yuri a few seconds to realize and barely chuckled. "Oh yeah, I did. I can't believe I forgot. You're very good at it, Flynn."

"I…did good thing, Yuri?"

"Yes, yes you did, Flynn. Good job." Yuri smiled, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately. "I feel all better now. Thank you."

Ah! Yuri was indeed impressed with his healing skill. Flynn laughed at the show of affection, forgetting his previous worries. If Yuri was happy and smiled at him, the blond knew he was doing a good thing. Pleasing Yuri was one of his main goals in life—well, he made it a personal goal. "Let's go, Flynn. The faster we get to Deidon Hold, the better." Yuri said after a few seconds, allowing the blond onto his back again. Deidon Hold? That was oddly familiar sounding, Flynn noticed, but from where? Had they been there before? Well, only one way to find out.

x-x

It was dark.

The boys and their dog had managed to get to Deidon Hold's gates, only to be ignored by the knights stationed there. Flynn hadn't been paying much attention to Yuri versus the soldiers there. Their argument actually made Flynn tired even more. He was so hungry and sleepy. They hadn't eaten for a few days now, and he just wanted to pass out. Yuri had stormed back after ten minutes of senselessly arguing with the knights, pouting up a frenzy storm. Obviously, those two soldiers weren't going to help out a pair of orphan kids and their dog, and it wasn't long until Flynn passed out.

The next thing Flynn knew, something loud in the sky thundered and jolted him awake. He grabbed onto the nearest thing available with his extremely tight grip.

"Ow… Flynn, that hurts." Yuri's voiced grumbled, which whatever Flynn grabbed turned out to be his hair.

"O-Oh… S-sorry Yuri." Flynn apologized, loosening up his hold. "But, that sound very loud. Wh-where it come?"

There was a momentary pause between them before the dark-haired boy replied. "It's…called thunder, Flynn. It's a really loud sound like drums but only in the sky. It means it might rain." Oh, so that's what it was, huh? The really loud noise meant it was going to rain? What was rain? Flynn was sure he'd never seen rain before. Was it good to eat? Unfortunately, before Flynn could even ask, Repede began growling and Yuri groaned an "Oh no…" and looked around. Flynn did too, but didn't see anything. Why were they—? And soon, it wasn't long until he _did_ see what the matter was. Angry, golden eyes piercing through the darkness, and snarls of more dogs. Flynn didn't know what to do—there were bigger dogs than Repede that were black and brown and coming their way! Were they more monsters? Yuri's own grip on Flynn tightened as the trio stared at the unfortunate situation they landed themselves in—or rather, walked into.

Whatever happened next, the boys didn't see it. Two wolves headed at Repede, who met their attacks dead on with his dagger. The same could not be said for Yuri though—a wolf was charging its way right at him! Flynn panicked once more. What was Yuri doing? Why was he spacing out? "Waaah!" Flynn cried a loud. The dark haired child snapped to at the cry of his brother's voice, and when the wolf was coming close. He pulled out his machete once more, trying to defend himself and Flynn as much as he could. He dropped Flynn, who could only look on in horror. It seemed as if Yuri was holding his own ground…but soon being overpowered by the wolf monster.

Just as when it was looking hopeless, Repede stepped in and took out the monster effectively, now keeping his tail around his masters protectively while he and the wolves were growling at one another. It wasn't long until a patter of water splashed onto Flynn's head, making him gasp. What was that? Why did a drop of water fall from the sky? Was there someone going to pour water onto them? The staring contest between Repede and the wolves lasted for some time, some began turning and walking off, those most of them stayed there, plotting whatever it was monsters plotted.

And, out of the blue, Flynn heard someone shout: "_Raging Ice Fang_!" Who—? Who did that? First, Flynn thought it had been Yuri, but the boy was in shock just as much as he was when the voice bellowed. Not only that, the strange arte that had been used was extremely powerful. Huge, blades of ice and glaciers—though Flynn didn't know what they were called—erupted from the ground and underneath the antagonizing creatures, stabbing through the collection of wolves and felling them all in one move. Words were being said between someone who was coming and Yuri. Flynn couldn't follow because he was so entranced with the arte he just witnessed.

"Come on, Flynn, Repede. Let's find somewhere to sleep for tonight, away from this imbecile." Yuri said after another ten minutes of trying to communicate with the mystery man that, no doubt, had saved them from the wolf ambush.

"What the mean?" Flynn asked, having caught onto the word 'imbecile' Yuri said. The dark-haired boy grumbled something incoherent, probably telling himself something, and decided to answer. Flynn seemed to have not understood Yuri was dodging a bullet, but settled on that the word 'imbecile' meant 'someone that's really annoying' as a brief, simple explanation. The three hadn't gotten too far ahead when the mystery man's voice spoke up again.

"Stop the both of you." He said in an authoritative tone.

And, as usual, when someone spoke to Yuri in such a way that wasn't the kind Captain Nylen, he huffed delinquently. "And why should we listen to you?" He asked, his eyebrow skeptically raised—though Flynn couldn't really see—as he narrowed his eyes upon the mystery man's shadowy outline. "We don't have to listen to you."

That's where Yuri sort of went wrong. Those wolves returned, and they brought more of their comrades with them! Uh-oh! "Ah man! Not them again!" The black-haired youngster complained, taking out his machete once again. This time, not being distracted, Yuri spun to his left when he saw or heard a wolf coming from his left, slashing away before it got too close. While that was happening, and Repede was engaged as well, Flynn managed to get away until it was safe. "Not a chance, ratball!" He overheard Yuri shout, probably to the wolf monster he was fighting. Flynn didn't get too far when another wolf was lunging straight for him to his right!

Flynn panicked yet again, frozen in his spot. What to do!? What _could_ he do? He couldn't fight, he couldn't use a sword like his brother could. Nor could he fight with a dagger like Repede did. The monster was getting closer! Flynn's little heart raced and his mind was going haywire. What—what, why how?!

'_Pick up a stick and fight!_' a voice said to him. A voice? Where did—? It hurt him a little bit, because it felt like all the senses in his body were being shouted at loud volume. Who said that? And, that voice…sounded so familiar. Where was it coming from? Was it that man? No…the voice was really young sounding. Almost—almost like his! Who could have the same voice as him? Was it all in his head? '_Stop worrying about my voice! Defend yourself! I will not allow you to die because your inability. You can use the same artes as me!_' Artes? Oh, those things that fonists use and everything? How could he—? Wasting no more time, Flynn quickly scanned his area and found something he could use, though it was far away.

With that wolf coming, he'd have to…go get it. But how? He couldn't run as fast and it was coming! Closer, closer, and closer!

'_…I'm only going to do this one time, so you better pay attention, okay?_' the sound alike voice said and soon, Flynn couldn't move. He could blink and breathe, but his arms and legs went stiff for a second, and started…moving on their own? What was happening? Why, why couldn't he move! '_This is how it's done._' The voice said again. Just when the wolf was about to pounce on Flynn, mouth agape as it was ready to tear him limb from limb—

'**_Demon Fang!_**' the voice shouted as Flynn's fonslots gathered just a tiny bit of aer, also on its own, and raised his right arm. The force of the aer's control shot out a rather huge, blue shock wave at the lunging beast! Flynn's eyes widened at the now felled monster that he did? He did that? No, something was…taking over his body and did it. How could that be? The lighter-haired boy felt the feeling in his legs and arms again, as if they had been "let go" from being held. '_Whew. That was a lot more powerful than I expected… but I hope that helps you learn. You ought to be more careful and start learning how to protect yourself. I won't always be here, you know._' The emotion upon Flynn's face was very readable now—he was extremely horrified now.

He—he had to get to Yuri! All of this was scaring him so much! Eerily enough, the voice never spoke again…

x-x

"Y-Yuri!" Flynn cried, having found his brother's arm and clutching it tightly. All these strange things that were going on, and adding to the fact there were wolves abound and…thunder! It was so frightening. He just…just wanted to go home already!

"S-stop Flynn! You're making me wobble!" Yuri bellowed, trying to straighten them both out.

"B-but I-I-I'm scared!"

"Don't be! I'm here to protect you, I promise!"

"Monsters so scary, Yuri! I-I-I want home."

"Me too, Flynn. Me too—whoa!"

Yuri had ducked, taking Flynn with him as three fireballs were aimed their way, or seemed to have been. During this, Flynn had rolled off, trying to avoid being hit. It seemed their mystery man 'friend' was fighting wolves as well, and had casted an arte for himself. "Hey! Watch your aim, old man!" Yuri shouted angrily. "You could have burned me and my brother! Aim better next time! Come on Flynn—" Yuri paused however. He seemed to be panicking just slightly, not feeling the little blond-haired boy nearby. A cackle of thunder boomed in the skies as the rainwater was coming down a little more than before. Flynn stopped rolling, looking up when the water pelted upon his head again. He was about to wonder why when his senses suddenly flared.

There was…something just to the left of Yuri!

_No…_ Flynn thought, his eyes widening as he stood up, much faster than he would have normally done. _Yuri! Yuri, he…going to be hurt!_ The blond started on his way towards his brother, his heart racing in fear. That same fear from earlier returned. He didn't want to lose Yuri. He was so scared, but, he—he had to do something! His brother meant everything to him. He had to try and save him! It was…right, right? Knights are supposed to protect others, right? That's what they do. That's what Flynn was going to do. The blue-eyed child noticed it was a wolf that was charging blindly right at the dark-haired progeny. No! No, not if Flynn could do something about it.

_Yuri… He…always help me. Always save me. Always nice to me. I have… I have to help him. I have to save Yuri. I have to…p…prot…ect him! I have… Be strong like Yuri!_

"Yuri!" Flynn shouted, worried. Their eyes only came in contact for one split second until—

—Flynn shoved his brother out of the way. And…then he screamed a deafening cry that could make a baby stop crying. The pain was everywhere, mostly at his right side. He could feel himself losing blood, and felt it escape his mouth as he cried out in horror. He felt the tears leave his eyes and felt his body falling. It felt as if time were stopping for only a brief moment, and then returned as soon as he landed on—someone. Flynn could barely feel anything—his entire body was aching and so…hurt! He gasped and gaped, trying to cry out the pain like Nylen would tell him when he scraped his knee one time. But, this time… It felt so much heavier. Flynn suddenly stopped gaping and closed his eyes. Maybe he could try to summon up his healing again.

…He tried, but nothing would form. Why? Why wasn't it…? Flynn tried again, and again, but the more he tried, the more tired and exhausting it became. Was he getting sleepy? At a time like this? Well, he never did finish his rest from earlier. His mind was slipping off just slightly until something prodded it awake—Yuri's voice.

"…F-Flynn…"

"Flynn…S-say something…"

Yuri, he was…sad? Why was he sad? Was he not happy that Flynn shielded him from the wolf's attack? Wasn't that a knight's job? Even if he wasn't officially a knight yet, he was doing something they should be doing, right? Yuri was probably more worried than happy, but Flynn reassured himself that his brother was very proud of him. Maybe he was waiting for him to say something. With his remaining energy, the blue eyes opened very slowly, and noticed he was a little wet—actually more wet than getting into a bathtub. "…Yuri…safe. Flynn…help. Flynn…do good?"

"…Flynn…You did—no…that was _stupid_, Flynn!"

Huh? What he did was 'stupid'? Nylen had once told him that wasn't such a nice word to say. Why did Yuri tell him that? Though, his voice sounded very upset and scared. Why, why was he scared? What for? He was safe! Flynn protected him! Maybe he was happy, but just very upset? That had to be the reason. He wouldn't stay mad for long. Flynn winced a little; he hadn't forgotten the pain. He was getting cold now…too cold. He just wanted to sleep. Maybe everything would go away if he just fell asleep now. Surely Yuri would understand. "…It…hurts Yuri. I…I hurt so much. I…want to…sleep…"

"No, Flynn, don't close your eyes. Stay with me, please!" Yuri pleaded.

Stay with him? But he was staying with him. He was just going to go to sleep for a while. Well if staying awake was what Yuri wanted him to do, he would try. But, Flynn, he was so, very, very tired. It was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open. They were wavering, and his vision was getting kind of clouded. The splatter of rainwater that beat upon him were kind of going out, and so was the thunder in the sky. Yuri was fading away? No, that couldn't be. He was still there. Flynn was just having a hard time seeing him, he figured. His body was still numb and aching at the same time—trying to touch something felt awfully weird. Soon enough, Flynn felt the same power of his healing being poured into him. Was that Yuri's doing? "…Yuri."

"Stop talking, Flynn." Yuri told him, trying to heal him, the blond guessed.

What was happening? Why was everything getting so foggy? Why was it so hard to hear? Would Yuri hear him if he tried speaking one more time? He was getting very tired now. He had to sleep right now. Flynn guessed if he closed his eyes, Yuri would get upset, but if he spoke, Yuri would get upset too. Well, maybe one last time wouldn't hurt. He had to tell him how he was feeling, right? Flynn was glad he helped his brother. "I…happy I help you…" He started, trying to focus his vision upon the worried dark-haired boy beside him. Flynn frowned slightly when he said tears—those _were_ tears?—sliding down his face. Why was he crying? Perhaps he should try to cheer him up.

"Don't cry…" Yet, why was it so hard to keep his eyes open? Flynn found his breath growing a little shorter now. Breathing was getting hard to do, too? That was strangely odd. Maybe he was more tired than he thought. Well, Yuri will wake him up later. For now, Flynn allowed the overwhelming might of rest claim him. His eyelids were too heavy to keep open, so he allowed them to close. "Everything…will be f…ine." The inside of his mind was starting to go dark. His usually clear memory was fogging up and fading away. He felt himself go entirely numb, unable to feel anything else. But he did remember one feeling; Yuri's warm hands on his face, holding his hand and then brushing in his hair. He loved it when his brother did that. It was so refreshing. With that faint memory only on the tip of his mind, Flynn smiled softly…

He barely heard Yuri's voice call to him. It was getting harder and harder to distinguish. Yuri was worried, he knew, but he would be fine when he woke up next time. Yuri would understand…

…Right?

The last thing Flynn sensed before the last of it faded away, was the enormous abundance of fonons and aer gathering near him.

-x-x-x-

A small body was suspended within a space of blues and purple hues. What appeared to be stars existed and yet, did not exist. It was the body of a child, with ear-length, brilliant golden-brown hair, flashing like a blinking light. The shirt was torn at the back, were translucent-like, reddish wings that were shaped strangely slowly fluttered behind them. They extended until they reached the child's legs. They had been holding onto someone else, who appeared to have fainted from exhaustion. Their eyes were closed, and huddled up into a ball. Near them was a blue dog, who appeared as if fainted as well.

_Safe… Somewhere safe… I just… I just want to be somewhere safe. Please… Please don't let go. Please, Flynn! Please, someone save him. Save him. I just want him by my side again. Don't let him die! Please! Help! Someone help! _

**"**My King…**"**

_Who? Who is that? Is that…to me? Isn't that…? I know that voice._

**"**It is I, Lorelei. I have come to you, my king.**"**

_Lorelei…What's happened? Why can't I move? Where am I? Flynn!? Repede!? _

**"**Calm down, my liege. You are within the Planet Storm.**"**

_Planet…Storm?_

**"**Yes. You caused a second-order hyperresonance by enacting on your emotions for the blond one. It was very dangerous of that to occur. The immense power was swallowed up into the Planet Storm.**"**

_…How can we get out, Lorelei?_

**"**…I shall assist you My King. Your desire for safety… I shall send you there… Your desire of safety…**"**

_I… I…_ The thoughts were coming back now. The child heard something, someone's thoughts. They were sleeping, but they were definitely there. They were familiar. The child wanted to be there. That…that was safe. That was where he had to be. Near those thoughts. Those comforting feelings. He had to be there.

**"**I see. My young King… I shall concentrate my energy to you that will take you _there_.**"**

The child opened their eyes slowly, the auburn tint staring out in the thickness of the suspended space. Then, there was a lot of energy pouring forth from somewhere and nowhere at the same time. It felt a lot like the seventh fonon. Was that Lorelei? He did say he was going to help. The bright aura enveloped them, and soon after, they were fading away like dust in the wind…

**"**…Origin. You are but a young child now. You must be careful with your human emotions. They are linked to your powers… You must learn to control your emotions and your abilities. Or else, you shall bring ruinous destruction to the world…and to yourself. My scion awaits you—go to him.**"**

-x-x-x-

He had been asleep since nine at night, having peaceful dreams. Within the next few days, he would be having a visitor; one who would come over every so often when possible. Because of traveling issues and escort problems, it wasn't very often they would come. So, when they did, it would be for a full week. That's fine; he'd have somebody to talk to again. But, there was one person who also caught his attention. That boy with black hair and grey eyes. Those were some strange colored eyes. Really, as far as he knew, nobody else had those colored eyes before. They were mysterious all the while very powerful, too. Just one gaze into them, and you'd feel like putty. Well, he certainly didn't, at least not anymore. He'd gotten used to them.

They only met twice, technically three if counting meeting very briefly in the marketplace. And yet, that strong feeling he got from that boy… It was oddly welcome. First it was a strange ringing noise in his head, then he began hearing thoughts that weren't his. That was peculiar, indeed. Why was he hearing someone else's…thoughts? He tried researching up on it and came to a daring conclusion that led to a forbidden technology on Auldrant. He was _sure_ it didn't relate to him in any way possible because it never happened to him anyway. But, what if it were true? He didn't like thinking on that idea, so he shoved it to the back of his mind. But every day after meeting the black-haired juvenile, he kept hearing someone talking but not talking directly _at_ him. It was so strange and frustrating too.

He couldn't concentrate too much on his studies or his swordplay or fonic artes, which took a long time to practice. There were times he didn't hear them and he got some peace and quiet, but they'd return sooner than he'd like. Just what was that voice? It wasn't haunting; in fact, it sounded familiar all the time, like he knew where the voice was coming from and who it belonged too. But, he couldn't put a name or a face to it. Whose was it? Perhaps he'd actually pay it some attention the next time he heard it.

'_Safe… I…want to be somewhere safe!_' And speak of the devil, there it was again!

He sat up in his bed, dream interrupted by the strange, familiar voice once more. His emerald green eyes scanned his surroundings just in case. Yeah, he was the only one who heard it for sure. It was raining outside now, and unnaturally, so to speak. The rain weather around this season and this city in particular weren't as heavy as it was in Terca Lumireis. But, for some reason, this downpour didn't seem normal. It was as if someone…summoned it. Seeing as he wasn't going to go to sleep anytime soon again, he got out of his bed and made his way to the window. It was closed of course, to keep the water out. However, the sound of the soothing water outside made it very relaxing. _Maybe the rain will put me back to sleep—_

—As soon as he thought those exact words, he saw a blinding flash of light appear from absolutely nowhere and then he could have sworn he heard someone gasp within his mind. What? Was that lightning or…?

'_L…Luke?!_' What the? '_…I… don't know how… but if that's you… Luke, thinking in my head… help. Please help. I don't know if this is real but… I just…_' That…voice! It knew him, and yet he couldn't identify why it was so familiar. The voice in his head, the one that was always thinking, was in fact a real voice. And it suddenly hit him as to _why_ it was astonishingly familiar.

Yuri.

'_Y-Yuri!? Is that you?_' Luke tried, surprised. How was this even happening? Were they naturally born psychics or extremely powerful mages? Well, Luke knew what he was by default. His birthscore said it all. But, if this was in fact Yuri, then how'd he—?

It wasn't long until the voice responded. '_…Yes. I still don't know how, but I need your help._'

Luke was certain of the voice's owner now. It was definitely Yuri, and he needed help? '_Where are you?_' He asked, his own tone now having an authoritative attached.

Ignoring it for now, Yuri replied: '_I don't know. It's so dark. It looks like…the garden we played in before…just… that ringing sound is very loud, I know you can hear it. Find us… and save Flynn._' That was all Yuri had to say. Luke, now determined, hurried to his closet to find his raincoat and boots. He was about to shoot for blankets but thought they'd only get soaked if he brought them. After all, it was pouring out raining. _But they might need some cover._ He thought, deciding to take a few. What was this about saving Flynn? Was he hurt? He better be okay! Luke had grown to liking the kid when he first met him. In fact, Yuri's and Flynn's, along with Repede's, appearances all made an impact on Luke. Before the second time they met, Luke was very cold and uptight. He only paid attention to his studies and training.

After all, he was going to be the next in line for kingship.

But, when his eyes landed on Yuri that day when he was practicing, it felt like the bitterness he had in his heart—wherever it came from—all but faded away. He felt like an actual eight-year-old around kids his age. He was so very lonely and rarely got visits. His mother was so frail and his father was distant. Not only that, his cousin had passed away when she was three years old. His playmate and future queen, all but vanished on him. It left him with a bad taste in his mouth, and his uncle Ingobert had to arrange for another, possible candidate. During that time, Luke became distant himself, only ever listening to his master, Van, and his mother and servants that lived in the manor.

But for Yuri to appear. It was like a whole new story. Luke's entire demeanor changed almost drastically.

Because of this, Luke had to help his friend. He wanted to keep that demeanor of his. He hated being alone and cold towards people, even as an honest worker. A good king is kind-hearted…and he wanted to be that way. Yuri brought him that joy to remain in such an attitude. He wanted to preserve it.

Luke opened the door to his room, stepping out and bringing a portable fonstone lamp with him, activated by a few fifth fonons. He threw the hood of his coat over his fiery, ruby hair, shielding his head from the pelting of the rainwater. He closed his eyes, listening intently on the gentle ringing sound that only he and Yuri, apparently, could hear. It was faint, but there. '_Yuri, I hear it. Are you there?_'

A moment after the question, a response followed: '_…Yes._'

'_All right. I need for you to keep talking to me. I think I'll be able to find you guys faster that way._' Luke replied, keeping his calm as much as possible. He set off running, heading around his room, and towards the backside garden, having taken Yuri's clue about it. The gentle ringing still was faint, but he could still hear it. Where were they? '_Yuri?_'

'_…I'm here. …The ringing's…getting kind of soft._'

Oh, that wasn't good. Luke stopped and headed in another direction. The downpour was coming upon him, and he nearly fell into the nearest puddle—almost. He caught his footing, steadily keeping upright. The gentle bell sound resonating within his mind was getting a tad louder, which Luke's heart raced. He must be getting closer! The redhead continued on that path, his determined spiking and the urge to hurry crawling up to the pit of his stomach. He had to hurry; Flynn's life could be in danger and he had to help them. '_I can hear it more clearly now… But I don't see you anywhere yet…_' Luke sent his "mind-message" to Yuri, hoping the black-haired boy could clue him in on something else.

'_I know. And I can actually feel your presence. Your…fon slots are beating rhythmically in sync with mine. You're…not too far._'

'_I'm not?_'

'_No… I'll… use something… maybe…_'

'_Wait—_'

It seems as if waiting wasn't in Yuri's cup of tea. Just in the rightmost distance, a faint, flashing ball of light emitted from nowhere, lighting up a small area it was in. Luke noticed it instantly and even though Yuri shouldn't have done that, he was grateful for it. If it meant finding them faster, then it was more than necessary. '_I saw your light. I'm coming to you._' Luke sent, hurrying as fast as his eight-year-old legs could carry him. Thunder and lightning in the sky flashed dangerously, but the redhead noble was hell-bent on retrieving his friends first than some damn storm. He tripped a couple of times, falling in puddles, almost dropping the spare blankets in the process but dropping his fonstone lamp along the way, and getting pelted by rainwater too. It wasn't going to stop him though.

In a matter of minutes, Luke's fonstone lamp shone upon three figures, all drenched in the rain.

"Yuri? Is that you?"

"…Luke…" The dark-haired boy slowly rose from his crouching position. There was someone underneath him that he was holding and trying to shield the rain off; there was no mistaking that this was Flynn. "…We…have to help Flynn…please."

Luke set down the lamp near them, noticing Repede as well—thank goodness the dog was there—and took out the blankets he carried. Well, they were half-wet, but they'd do for now. "We have to hurry and get to my room." The redhead began, immediately covering his friend with one of the blankets, "and I'll call for one of the servants to fetch a doctor." Yuri stared incredulously at Luke, who didn't notice nor see it but had a feeling the black-haired boy, in fact, was staring directly at him. Not only that, he could still _hear_ Yuri's thoughts.

"Come on, Yuri. We can't waste any time if we're going to save Flynn. Let's go." Luke said, snapping the older boy out of his thoughts. He assisted the auburn-haired noble with wrapping Flynn in one of the blankets, making sure his head was covered. When he was adjusted onto Yuri's back, Repede sat up, very grateful Luke showed up. The boy was pretty dependable when you needed him. Luke picked up his fonstone lamp again and stayed beside Yuri, as did Repede. The sooner they got to Luke's room, the sooner Flynn would be all right. Yuri only hoped so. He just couldn't live without his little brother at his side.

…If only nobles were like Luke…

* * *

Notes:

1. I dunno if any of you Vesperian players noticed but Yuri _did_ sort of use one of his artes as his ten-year-old self. (It was in the previous chapter too) It was Wolf Strike—an unfinished/developing version of it though, of course. I suck at arte description.

2. Repede did an arte too. (Also in the last chapter) Not sure what arte I was trying to describe.

3. Flynn did an unstable Demon Fang, and the healing arte used in the previous chapter was in fact First Aid.

4. Oh, I listened to the song called "Presea" from Tales of Symphonia. I have a feeling it's Presea's theme or something. Like, when she comes to from the Exsphere/Cruxis Crystal's influence and sees her father dead in Ozette and everything. Never played it, but sounds like it. The song really hit home when I was typing out Flynn-getting-attacked-by-wolves bit.

Not as long as the last chapter. Sorry for no action in it. D: Next chapter will be greater than this. Just wanted to develop Flynn some more.


	5. Promise

Thank you all for the favorites, follows and reviews. Very much appreciated. (: Since I've actually located a decent Vesperia playthrough on Youtube, I've been able to see majority of the game locations and everything. I've been fired up to do this chapter now that I have the knowledge!

Also, from last chapter, when I said Repede is going by a Repede calculator, I do mean he's actually the age he is, so sort of like in human terms. I'd like to think the "war dog" breeds are different from the 'common' dog. He's also about half the size he is in the game as of current. I apologize if this chapter sort of jumps around and is very short—this is the end of the "Childhood Arc" and slowly moving into the "Adulthood Arc" for the remainder of the story. Huzzah!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Tales of Vesperia_ or _Tales of the Abyss_. Yeah, you know the idea.

Hope you enjoy!

Promise

Chapter 5

-x-x-x-

**ND 2010 — Rem Decan, Lunaday 39th**

~Zaphias, Bedrock City of Peace — Lower Quarter~

4 Years Later

-x-x-x-

The morning sun rose upon the continents of Terca Lumireis, giving them its marvelous, shining blessing. Yuri and Flynn had been sharing the bed for the past three years, and both had been working odd-end little chores for the newest lady that ran the inn. Despite the curtains being down and blocking any entryway of light, the sun's rays managed to sneak through the curtain. The room in which the boys shared was very small, but comfortable. They 'assorted' their room by 'sides'; Flynn had one side and Yuri had the other. The bed sat up against the wall about the middle of the room. On Yuri's side, was an oaken-made drawer with only three drawers, which was up against the rightmost wall adjacent to the door. It looked very decrepit, but it managed together. A thin black looking box was next to his side of the bed, which their dog, Repede, slept upon. Seemed kind of cozy since the dog was fast asleep. On Flynn's side, it was just about the same, except there was a window and his drawer was next to his side of the bed. A tiny desk was also on his side, up against the leftmost corner.

Flynn was the first one to wake, shuffling out of the covers the boys shared together, stretching his young body. After a long yawn, the blond-haired boy quietly got out of the bed and headed for the drawers. One of the two had the name carved "FLYNN" upon it, which he opened the top drawer, and pulled out a simple cream shirt with multiple stitching in them, brown shorts and a pair of crinkled socks. They weren't the best clothes ever, but the Scifo child was glad to own them. After changing with little to no noise made, Flynn closed the drawer, slipped on his shoes and headed for the only door of the room. His blue eyes found a matching set when he glanced over to see Yuri still sleeping; apparently, nothing gets passed Repede's exceptional hearing.

"Shh." Flynn told the dog, grinning a bit as he turned the creaky doorknob slowly, then stepping outside, closing the door just as silently. The dark-blue furred canine simply grunted softly before curling back up and falling back to sleep. Wow, what an _amazingly_ lazy dog he was. Must have gotten that from master number one, as master number two was never a sleeping in kind of kid.

Once outside, Flynn hurried down the stairs towards the right and went directly inside the main inn's entrance. His appearance didn't go by unnoticed.

"Flynn! Good morning!"

"Miss Marie, good morning." He greeted the woman as he went right up the counter, climbing up the available stool and sitting down. "I woke up early, just like I said yesterday. I'm ready to help you with the morning chores."

"Ah, that's right, you did say that, didn't you?" the boy nodded, still keeping a smile upon his face. "Well, before you do anything, you should eat breakfast. It's not much, just scrambled eggs and toast."

"Thank you. That's fine, Miss Marie." Flynn thanked politely. The kind innkeeper fixed the plate and gave it to Flynn, handing him a clean fork. "I'm sorry Yuri's not here yet…"

"Oh, that boy's always sleepin' in." Marie said, frowning just a bit as she pushed a few dark locks of hers from her face. "But don't worry. I got something for him to do when he gets up." Flynn scooped a little eggs into his mouth, chewing as politely as possible, giving Marie a questionable gaze that seemed to ask 'like what?'. The dark-haired young woman chuckled slightly when she noticed the blond child's expression. "He'll be helping ole Hanks with supplying carts of course and then helping me cook."

"Oh, that doesn't seem so hard." Flynn said after chewing, though he knew Yuri, at this age, was a decent cook. Flynn tried to help in the kitchen once—it was a disaster after. Yuri tried tasting the supposed fried chicken Flynn tried to make and had to use a small First Aid on himself afterwards. Just for his cooking. Hm, maybe today he could improve on those unfortunate cooking skills of his. "Maybe I can do it instead?"

"Ah, no son. You'll be helping me with washing the laundry, kitchen utensils and helping with the kids." Marie answered cheerfully though Flynn believed she was aware of his _fabulous_ cooking ability that rendered itself useless to the blond.

"All right then." Flynn relented and continued eating.

In a manner of minutes, Flynn finished off his breakfast, washed out his plate and fork, then proceeded to wake up his best friend, also known as his brother. Ever since Flynn could remember, the dark-haired teen has always been there, and he had known him as a brother. They didn't look anything alike, but that point didn't matter for either of them. They weren't exactly blood relatives or anything; they just were siblings, simple as that. Flynn backtracked to the room he and Yuri shared, opening the door and walking in soundlessly. His sapphire orbs weren't so surprised to see their dog still curled up in his same spot from before, nor was he surprised to see Yuri sprawled out across the bed, the covers hanging off the lower half of his body. His growing dark locks were matting over his face as if someone brushed them there. Flynn chuckled to himself, shaking his head and walked up to the bedside.

"Yuri, Repede, wake up." Flynn said, patiently waiting. Unfortunately for him, Yuri was still snoozing in dreamland, and Repede simply shuffled in his spot. "Wake up, you two. It's morning." The blond tried again, now trying to prod Yuri awake. Nothing happened.

"…" Flynn dotted, tapping his foot lightly against the boarded floor. Seriously, his big brother could sleep like a rock when he wanted to. And Repede? Why wasn't _he_ waking up? Normally he would at the faintest of sounds. That lazy dog! "Yuri, wake up! You too, Repede! It's time to get up and help Miss Marie with the chores." Flynn said again, using both of his hands to shake the boy awake. Instead of nothing, Flynn was awarded with a rolling over and a snort. "Yuri!" He decided to raise his voice a bit.

"Unn… Just…five more minutes…Captain…" Yuri murmured, snuggling his head back into the pillow and curled up similarly to Repede. Aforementioned dog rose to the volume of Flynn's voice, yawning and stretching at the same time. Sighing, Flynn decided to proceed with Plan B of waking up his lazy sibling. First, he tore off the blanket from Yuri, who was still curled up like a ball on the bed, and next he opened up the curtains, allowing the full blast of the sunlight to pour into the room from the unopened window. A moment later, Yuri was stirring awake much to Flynn's amusement—it was sometimes funny to wake up the dark-haired teen this way.

"Rise and shine, Yuri!" Flynn said, standing by the now opened window, allowing a fresh breeze of air to sweep inside. At the sound of Flynn's rather pleasant exclamation, Yuri rolled over again, his face scrunching up when the light shone on his face.

"Nngh… Unn… What?" Yuri managed to mumble out, weakly opening his eyes—only halfway—and eventually sat up, sluggishly. "What…time is it…?"

"It's time to get up," Flynn answered, adjusting the curtains so they provided both light and sheltering for privacy. "Miss Marie has chores for us, so hurry up and get dressed." Yuri yawned widely, flopping back down on the bed with his arms spread apart.

"Ugh, but it's a Lunaday…" The dark-haired boy grumbled in complaint. He despised Lunadays. They were always slow and boring for some reason he couldn't imagine why.

"Come on, Yuri. If we start now, we'll be finished by the evening. We might have time to play after that." Flynn said, trying to sound optimistic. A couple of moments later, Yuri sat by up and got off the bed, stretching much like Flynn and Repede did earlier. Man, did his back crack some; must have slept very awkwardly in the night or something.

"All right, I'm up."

"Good. I'll meet you downstairs. Get dressed and you might want to do something with your hair. It's kind of sticking out abnormally, Yuri." Flynn told his best friend, giggling a bit at his last remark. "Oh and don't forget to bring Repede with you, since he seems keen on staying where he is." As he turned to leave the room they shared, Yuri made his way to the drawers, particularly to the one with the engraving of "YURI" upon it.

"And not like _your_ hair isn't abnormally sticking out everywhere?" Yuri called out, pushing a few strands of his crepuscular-colored hair from his face. It had been growing within the few years, 'untamed' as it was. It had long since reached past his shoulders, and one time he attempted cutting it, out of habit. Yuri apparently missed the ends of his hair and cut the middle portion—now, his hair was growing improperly, length-wise. After a while, he stopped caring about his hair and just let it grow out. Yuri pulled out the top drawer, taking out an offset black shirt with stitches in them, and similar brown shorts that Flynn had. They also had the same kind of socks and shoes; it was all the Lower Quarter could afford for them anyway. It didn't matter to Yuri though; he liked what he had, even if it was a little.

Once he changed into his day clothes, Yuri stretched again, yawning once more, too. "Flynn… Man that kid's gotten better, ever since I met him and all. Actually, he's gotten so good, he can beat me at everything we do now." Yuri said mostly to himself. "Games, chores, swords… everything I can think of. Even his handwriting's better than mine." His hand went through his caliginous locks, feeling the spots where his hair had indeed curled up from last night's sleep. "Heh, he wasn't kidding. I could use a brush…or a comb." Yuri instead tried to smooth his silky locks back with his hand repeatedly until he knew it was down. "We better get downstairs before Miss Marie nags us like that fairy from a book I read a long while back…" The boy told the blue-coated canine, who simply wagged his long tail in response.

Out the room the dark-haired teen and dog went, closing the door behind them and skipping down the steps to his now left as other rooms were the other way. When he was down them, he noticed Flynn and a few other kids and Marie outside the inn's main entrance. "Oh, there you are Yuri, Repede." Marie said as she saw them approaching. "I hope you've had a good night's sleep?"

"Uh…yeah, I did. Sorry for sleeping in."

"That's fine, hon. Now before you get started, I've made you a plate of breakfast. It's just scrambled eggs and toast." She looked down at the azure lupine and smiled. "I've made something for you as well, Repede."

Yuri shrugged. "That's fine. Anything works for me, really. Thank you." The boy headed inside, spotting the aforesaid plate of breakfast on the counter. There was also half a bowl full of cooked steak meat, chopped up to near perfection, just ready for Repede to tear apart. Both hurried to their meals respectively, eating in unison and almost uncivilized, much to Flynn's surprise. He knew Yuri could be hungry when he was, but to scarf down food _that_ quickly? When the dusk-haired boy and his dog were done with their meals, Yuri proceeded to washing the plate and bowl while Flynn shook his head as he approached the counter.

"I knew you were hungry, but you could have like at least savored the taste of the food you know?" Flynn asked, arms crossed. "You even got Repede into your bad eating habit."

"I was hungry. I had no time to taste what was going to go into my stomach. And besides, who's going to bother trying to taste what the food tastes like when they're starving?" Yuri countered. "Repede and I pretty much grew up together—of course he's gonna eat like me."

Flynn sighed in exasperation. Of course Yuri's reply would be the dissatisfaction of his chagrin. Stubborn boy he was. "Well, could you learn to eat more properly? Please?"

"Fine, I guess I can try." Yuri said with his own sigh. "Better go see what Miss Marie wants now that we have our fill. Plus, I've to tell her how good her cooking is." Soon as Yuri spoke those words, he and Repede were blitzing towards the door and were out faster than anyone could say "dinner time!" three times fast. Shrugging his shoulders in light defeat, Flynn followed his adoptive brother and the war dog outside, noticing the other Lower Quarter citizens preparing for the day of more hard work. His sapphire eyes found the rather delinquent sibling attentively listening to Marie's directions and the responsible chores he'd be having to do for the day. While assisting Hanks in loading carts with supplies and cooking weren't a lot, they were actually very hard to do, especially for kids.

However, Yuri insisted when they were both thirteen that they'd start getting more, harder chores. They were growing boys after all, and few the Lower Quarter could get when it came to lifting heavy objects. There were mostly women, elderly and littler kids that couldn't do much, so they'd step up and take more responsibilities. Flynn suggested they'd start today, as it had been a month since Yuri turned thirteen, and Flynn's was approaching within a few months. Ever since Yuri found Flynn in Baticul that day, Shadow Redecan on Lunaday the 19th, that had been declared as Flynn's birthday. Since aforementioned blond appeared to be Yuri's age, they guessed he was just about it. When the topic of birthdays came up, Flynn had asked Yuri about his birthday. The darker-haired teen simply replied with:

"ND 1996, Lorelei Redecan, Loreleiday the 59th."

Flynn found it peculiarly odd that Yuri was born on that day, before the last day of the month before the new year began. Not only that, he had read up that Lorelei Redecan was one of the coldest months of the winter season, and particularly the week of the 53rd of that year was colder than the weeks prior. In fact, every time it was around Yuri's birthday, it was colder. And to add to the strange occurrence, the snow around the Lower Quarter was rather comfortable in the sense it wasn't too cold to play in and get sick from. And, it only happened when the boy in question was nearby. Everywhere else was chillier.

"Flynn! Come on, dear! Let's get those chores done now!" Marie called out to the deep-in-thought preteen. Flynn snapped out of his thoughts, now seeing Yuri gone off with Hanks along with Repede, and Marie waving for him to help her with the laundry baskets. Putting his mind at ease for now, the blond quickly hurried up to the innkeeper, putting on a simple smile. "Here I come, Miss Marie. Don't start without me!"

-x-x-x-

Later in the evening when the earlier chores were completed, the boys decided to do what they always liked doing when bored or were in need of some stress relieving, letting-out-your-steam exercise: train by sparring.

"Ha!" Yuri cried as he swung his wooden sword with his left hand gripping the wooden hilt, hoping the strike would land a hit on his sparring partner. Unfortunately for Yuri, Flynn held up his own wooden sword, blocking Yuri's attack and retaliated with his own. "Ta!" Flynn yelled. Yuri attempted to block as well, successfully though he slid against the ground just a bit. "Ungh! Take this!" He dove to Flynn's left, swinging.

Unfortunately for the older boy, Flynn saw it coming. "No way!" And dodged just in time. Dang, he was fast. The two backed off from trading blows, Yuri assessing the situation. Trying to attack Flynn's left was a bad idea, and attacking Flynn's right was a terrible idea. He tried that earlier in their little duel, and was painfully reminded that doing so would end up getting smacked on the head. Yuri took in his friend's stance, trying to find any weak point or mistake in it, and use it to his advantage. It felt like he couldn't find one at all, though remembered he had learned a technique through his self-training when the blond wasn't around. Smirking, Yuri swiftly charged at Flynn, who kept his posture.

"Ah-ha! I gotcha!"

"No, it's _me_ that's got _you_!" Flynn said back as he readied himself.

"Not this time! **_Azure Edge_**!" Yuri fired off a miniscule wave of blue energy of concentrated aer he had gathered into his fonslots quickly. Seeing Flynn's reaction and expression was predicted.

"Whoa!" The blond cried as the aer-based technique sailed past him as he dodged it. Strangely enough, the move faded off before it hit anything else. "You can't do that, Yuri! That isn't fair!"

"And why not? Fighting real people's not always going to be about following rules and everything. You can expect everything and anything on a battlefield." Yuri countered. "Nobody's going to be fair to you or us for that matter when we're fighting them. So we should fight—"

"—Like savages and uncivilized, ruthless monsters, right?" Flynn finished, frowning. "But you're right. If we do fight other people, they won't be fair to us. So I suppose learning when to fight 'dirty' is necessary to complete tasks and battles effectively."

"Yeah, that's right. Sorta."

"So in that case…" Flynn smiled as he pulled in seventh fonons, "**_First Aid_**!" and healed himself.

Yuri frowned instantly. "Hey, wait a second! I can't do that!"

"I thought you could? And don't say that isn't fair because you'd be contradicting yourself. And you nearly grazed me with your Azure Edge just a few moments ago!"

"Okay…so I _was_ going to say that, but still! I pretty much stopped bothering to learn magic artes and everything. It's too complicated for me and I hate studying and reading. Takes too long."

Flynn raised an eyebrow. "You hate reading? But you read a book not long ago, like last month."

"It was just a few pages, like ten in total. Wasn't very long at all." Yuri answered.

"Oh…" Flynn blinked. "Well, healing artes can't be that bad. They're actually very easy to learn."

"Says the guy who learned how to use it four years back _without_ reading or studying about it." Yuri pointed out, narrowing his eyes. "I could only use a little bit of healing artes on myself to heal just tiny scratches. You can heal like huge scars and stuff."

"Yuri, I bet if you put your mind to it—"

"And that's the problem. If I put my mind to it, it'll surely fry before I have a chance." The older boy cut him off and supplied a response, near sarcastically too.

Flynn sighed and resisted the urge to face-palm. Seriously, any argument related topic they would get into, Yuri would win it. There was no persuading the guy to do anything or think about anything else. Once Yuri set his mind to something, it was very close to impossible to change it. Only three times had Flynn managed to successfully deter the older boy from doing things he wanted to do, which ultimately saved his ass more than once, too. Flynn could only imagine what the future would hold and what would happen between them. "Fine then. Did you want to keep sparring?"

The grin he received was more than enough of an answer, but Yuri replied anyhow. "Yeah. I could really blow off some steam now."

"Good, so can I. And can we agree to not use any artes? No Azure Edging."

Yuri rolled his eyes then shrugged. "Fine. Just no First Aiding."

"Fine by me." Flynn agreed, pointing his wooden sword at his friend. "Ready when you are, Yuri!"

The dark-haired teen rose his sword as well as it clanked against Flynn's. "Oh, I'm so ready!" After this was spoken, the two boys lunged for one another, trading blows once more. Their swords clacked and made physical contact with one another's body; at one point, Flynn's sword smacked Yuri against his left arm, and Yuri retaliated by slapping his own upon Flynn's right arm. They continued battering about, backing off, then trying to strike at the other, and either failing to hit or actually landing a hit. And, like many distracted kids their age when having too much fun, they hadn't noticed the sun was slowly disappearing over the horizon, casting an orange light that bathed upon the entire imperial city.

The two dueling children backed off once again for about the fiftieth time—they weren't so sure on how many times, seeing as they weren't exactly paying any attention to it—panting heavily. Sapphire orbs met grey ones at the mere distance between them, both boys attempting to come up with some sort of 'plan' to best the other. _I bet Flynn won't know what hit him if I used Azure Edge now. I bet he's planning to use First Aid or something… I can like feel it._ Yuri thought, keeping his focus dead on his best friend sibling. On the flip side, Flynn was doing the same, keeping his gaze set on Yuri's panting form.

_He's got to be growing tired right about now. I'm pretty beat. I bet Yuri's planning to use something on me, even after we just agreed to not use any more artes._ The blond assessed, watching the dark-haired teen's movements closely. He felt something gathering—obviously either fonons or aer—and assumed Yuri was in fact going to pull something. Ugh, such a cheater. _I guess I'd expect no less from him. If he's going to cheat, I may as well use it against him. He won't know what's coming at him._ The two eventually straightened, their gazes still locking on the other. They quickly lunged at one another, skidding to a stop and—

"**_Demon Fang_**!"

"**_Azure Edge_**!"

—shouted their artes at the same time. Two waves of concentrated fonons and aer were instantly shot against another. The attacks created a rather loud impact and shock of smoke, which blew both boys a light distance from one another. When the dusty smog cleared, Yuri waving it away to get a clear view of his surroundings. Apparently as he looked up, Flynn was towering over him and holding out his hand. How'd he get over here so fast? "What the—?" Was all Yuri could say, gaping at the situation.

"Yuri, are you okay?" Flynn asked, which Yuri found was becoming an annoying routine for the golden-haired preteen. The older child took the hand up and sighed a bit.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but jeez Flynn, you beat me _again_." Yuri frowned. "At this rate, I'll never beat you."

Flynn frowned a little bit at the light harshness of Yuri's voice though couldn't resist a chuckle a bit after. "I'm sorry, Yuri. We'll just have to help you improve."

"In a million years, I bet." The raven-haired teenager pouted in complaint.

"Well, while you try to think of that, let me heal you." Flynn said, and began gathering in seventh fonons again. Before Yuri could protest, he released the healing arte of First Aid upon his friend's minor injuries. Yuri closed his eyes, finding the soothing magic to be relaxing and welcome. Every time the blue-eyed preteen would use the healing spell, to Yuri, it felt like he was falling down upon a huge pillow of soft down, and captivatingly pleasant. A light smile graced his lips when he opened his grey eyes again, watching Flynn's expression. He looked at absolute peace when performing the offensive arte each time, though sometimes Yuri had to stop him from going overboard. Seriously, loving the feeling of the healing technique was a great thing, but to be drowned in it was another thing.

"Flynn, you can stop now." Yuri said, snapping the preteen out of his concentration. He released the seventh fonons back into the invisible atmosphere and chuckled softly.

"Sorry…" He apologized, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I went over the line again, huh?"

"Yeah, you did."

"Sorry."

Yuri shook his head. "It's fine, Flynn." As the two sat down near the fountain, which was just about in the center of the Lower Quarter, they stared out into the sky, watching the stars twinkle above them. The orange hue of the sunlight was slowly dwindling out, painting the sky's canvas a wonderful, golden-orange and navy blue color. "Wow, that felt like an odd sense of déjàvu." Yuri admitted a little while after, having slightly thought about the situation.

Flynn turned his way, his sapphire eyes boring onto the older boy. "What do you mean, Yuri?"

"…I mean, like I remember telling you to stop before… Like when we were first leaving Zaphias all those years ago." Yuri reminded him.

"O-oh right…" Flynn blushed in embarrassment. "I think that was the first time I ever used First Aid on you. Those Rhinossus creatures were very brutal…"

Yuri rubbed his right arm in memory of the attack. It was still fresh in his memory, as if it happened yesterday. He would never forget that time, and the events that had led to that horrible, couple of days. Something about those few days made him cringe. For the most part, there was a large portion of that day that was missing from his memory, and apparently from the day before they left the imperial city. Something…important. No matter what he did, Yuri couldn't find the missing piece of that day. It had been dark, and wolves had attacked them. And then…something happened to Flynn, something dreadful. Then, they were somehow in Luke's room, with the redhead boy worrying over them. Flynn apparently was better after that. That was so weird, that they wound up in Baticul in what seemed like an instant. It was where they were going to once they hit Capua Nor.

For another oddity to add onto the growing bundle, Flynn couldn't recall much of that incident either. It was like they both suffered amnesia. To make matters worse, at night, Yuri would have nightmares about Flynn and him dying because a monster attacked him. Flynn's image would push him out of the monster's path, and then…it would kill him right on the spot. Because of the fear of the dreams, Yuri would never let the blond out of his sight, not even for a split second. He had gotten better with time, but the lingering fear was still in range. Up until this year, Yuri appeared to be fine with Flynn leaving his sight, but the fact he worried slightly never let him go.

Shaking from his thoughts, Yuri found Flynn to be staring up at the sky again, watching the sun set behind the horizon, though it still peeked out a tiny margin. Soon enough, a wave of night clouds appeared alongside the sparkling stars, giving the dark canvas a marvelous, artistic touch. It was going to be a beautiful night again. "Hey Yuri." Flynn randomly spoke up, the orange-red light of the sun now upon their faces.

"Yes Flynn?"

"Do you remember that promise we made when we were younger?"

Yuri nodded, turning his head to face his best friend. "I do. What about it? Don't tell me you're going to step out of it after this long…" Flynn shook his head and rose to his feet, picking up his wooden sword with his right hand.

"No. I propose we do it over." The blond suggested. He outstretched his wooden sword, making a notion for Yuri to do the same. His friend stood up as well, taking his sword in his left hand.

"Do over, huh? Making another vow?" Yuri asked with a smirk.

"Yes. There's a lot we need and have to do."

The dark-haired teen nodded and clanked his wooden sword against Flynn's. They stood there with the glow of the setting sun upon them. Flynn's blond hair seemed to have taken a liking to the orange-red hue the sunlight provided, making it glow just as brightly. Yuri's dark hair didn't seem as dark as before; naturally it looked black until light was upon it. Because of the remaining setting sun's light, one could easily notice the purple hue in the teen's hair. With a gentle breeze captivating their hair in some way, it seemed the scene playing before both of them was almost surreal. Yuri's hair also seemed to have taken a light brown color and that a little bit of his friend's eyes flashed a red color too, though Flynn thought he just imagined things.

"Of course there's a lot for us to do. We both don't like how things are here. We need to change them."

"Let's make a new vow, Yuri. To echo the promise we made those years ago. Swear on our swords right now." When the other boy nodded for Flynn to continue, he went on with an eager resolve. "Let's swear to fight to make everyone around us smile."

"Let's also swear that we will do whatever it takes, even if we have to take on different paths to achieve it." Yuri proposed after.

"Even if we have to endure and bear different burdens."

"Even if everyone liked us or doesn't like us. If they praised us for what we do and what we did or hate us for what we do and what we did."

"We swear that we'll undo the injustice of the system and fight to make things better for this world we live in. For everyone. For every living person to be equal. Even if the knights and the guilds won't change."

"And even if there are places in each of us the other can't reach."

"This is reason enough that we're never alone." Flynn finished. They seemed to have spoken this from reciting an entry for a long time, waiting for this moment. "I, Flynn Scifo,"

"And I, Yuri Lowell,"

"Hereby swear this oath upon our swords."

The two closed their eyes momentarily, then reopened and clanked their swords together again, as if signifying the sworn oath. They smiled at each other, the sun bathing its last luster of light. "Yuri, let's work hard to make it come true. We can only do this together."

"Yeah. Even if things look tough, there's no way I'm not going to back down from this."

"Good to hear, Yuri." Flynn said as he lowered the arm holding onto the wooden hilt. Yuri parroted this, their smiles never-fading. "I think we should join the knights in five more years. We'll be old enough to enroll by then, and we can work our way up. Just, wait a few months for me to turn eighteen too so we can both apply at the same time."

"Sure thing, Flynn. I'll wait as long as it takes."

"Okay." His blue eyes scanned the scenery around them. The Lower Quarter had grown quiet, the last of the vendors having put their only wares away and indoor lights—candles were more like it—were lit. They were easily seen from the window glass. Another breeze whipped by, this time a bit chillier than the previous. "We should be heading inside now. It's getting dark, and I think Repede's waiting for us."

"Okay then, let's go get him and get inside our room." Yuri agreed. The two walked side by side in tandem of each other's footsteps, heading to the main entrance of the inn where they knew their dog companion was most likely there. Flynn barely opened the door and a black nose on a white muzzle was right there. Apparently, Repede was indeed waiting for them right at the door. He greeted both of his masters a bit enthusiastically before leaving with them. The boys bid Marie good night as they closed the front door, now on their way to their room.

"Today was…eventful, wasn't it?" Yuri asked out of the blue once they were inside their room.

"Yeah it was. We better go wash up first. We don't want Miss Marie to yell at us tomorrow morning for not doing that." Said Flynn, not wanting to remember the punishment they had received one time when they _forgot_ to wash up after chores. Marie could get very frightening if she wanted to. Repede yawned and headed over to his usual spot, lying down and curled up. He had his fair share of helping around as much as he could before his father, Lambert, showed up and led him back to the Royal Quarter for a while. It had been a little after the noon when he returned to the Lower Quarter, returning to his duties.

"Oh, right." Yuri also didn't fail to remember the punishment either. That wasn't the best memory ever according to them. "You go first, Flynn. The water might be warmer this time, so you go ahead."

"But…"

The raven-haired teenager shot his friend a serious glance. "Go ahead. I'll be fine with cold water again. I just want to make sure you're comfortable."

"But Yuri. You shouldn't…" Flynn tried again. "You shouldn't do that."

"Do what?"

"Make me take the warm water first. You deserve it just as much as me. Didn't we just swear that we'll make things better for everyone?" The blond narrowed his diamond blue irises at the other boy, frowning. "You and I are also included in the 'everyone' bit of that pledge. So you're going with me and we're going to share the warm water together." Yuri wanted to slap himself. He hadn't forgotten the sworn oath they made half an hour ago, it was just he was so used to letting Flynn wash first so he could have the warm water. To the Lower Quarter, the blond was very precious and special when it came to healing artes. He was the only one who could heal without the need of a blastia to manipulate aer and fonons into the spell. Yuri could too, but his wasn't as strong as Flynn's; that's why he made sure the younger boy had better everything else.

The material used in the few spares of clothes Flynn had were one of the best the Lower Quarter could offer. Despite how wild he slept, Yuri made sure Flynn had most of the covers on the bed. Yuri made sure Flynn had eaten first before he did. It was one of the reasons why he 'sleeps in' most of the time. The older boy did in fact sleep in because he was tired sometimes, though majority of it, he faked it so Flynn could eat. Yuri was a light sleeper and woke to the slightest sounds similarly to how Repede does. Yuri never told Flynn any of those reasons; he just had them. _Because if Flynn found out, he'd be livid._ The grey-eyed teen thought. He finally faced Flynn and grinned. "Well, you're right. No point in having the warm water all to yourself, Flynn!"

"H-huh? I…"

"Let's go. I don't want it to turn into cold water by the time we get to the washroom."

"R-right." Flynn hurried to grab his night-clothes from this morning, also getting Yuri's as the aforesaid boy went out of the room. The blond nodded to the dog, who watched them with tired, light blue eyes. Repede didn't move from his spot, knowing his masters were going to be fine. However, he did hear the childish snickers and giggling that were trying to stay quiet from the couple of doors down. The blue dog sighed in a way a dog could, lying his head down and twitching his ears to make sure he still heard them. If Repede were human, he'd be saying something along the lines of: "my masters are at it again." If anything, them getting along is better than them arguing. The blue canine was always saddened when they fought verbally and sometimes it would turn into a physical fight. When the altercation grew intense, Repede would start howling sorrowfully; most of the time, that caught their attention and they stopped bickering at one another. Other times, it alerted Marie—and other Lower Quarter citizens and even Lambert, who normally hears _everything_ from wherever he is in the city—and she would separate them and punish them accordingly.

For Repede, his two masters were a handful.

-x-x-x-  
-x-x-x-

**ND 2010 — Luna Redecan, Ifritday 46th **

~Zaphias, Bedrock City of Peace, Castle Zaphias — Royal Quarter~

11 Months Later

-x-x-x-

"Luke! Look at the snow falling from the sky!" An excited, cheerful voice exclaimed in excitement. A young girl about eleven years old with short, carnation hair and bright, emerald eyes stared out from the window of the room she was currently in. It was the library study inside the castle of Zaphias, where the girl lived. She had fair skin that hardly got sunlight, due to her being restrained indoors for majority of her life. A boy with short, crimson hair and having a darker shade of emerald eyes approached her after putting the book he was currently reading down on the nearby table.

"It's so beautiful!" She sighed romantically again, clasping her hands together. She was wearing a carmine dress with the sleeves ending just around her elbows. She had on a few bracelets adorning her wrists and her hair was tied back with a tiny, white bow into a miniature ponytail that curled.

"It is, isn't it Estellise?" Luke agreed, smiling at the girl. He had on a white button shirt with long sleeves, the French cuffs folded neatly and buttoned around his wrists. His pants were a simple black color with fine, silver lining upon them. "Is this your first time seeing snow?"

"No," Estellise said, shaking her head lightly. "I've seen snow before, but it's always so beautiful every time it falls. I always wish I could go outside and see it for myself."

"Why don't you?"

"I…I want to but… the Councilmen and the Commandant prefer if I don't go outside when it's raining or snowing. The maids worry I'll catch a cold."

"Oh." Luke said, but had to empathize with her. His parents and the knights in Baticul, as well as the maidservants of his would prevent him from doing the same. Most of the time, he stayed in his chambers studying when the weather wasn't sunshine, though he had to admit when it rained, it was comfortable. When it snowed, it made him drowsier and dream better. Still, for Estellise to have never stepped outside when it snowed bothered him. "They can't refuse an order from the princess, which you are. Tell them to get out of your way and that you're going outside."

"Oh, but Luke. That's kind of mean. I mean, they're looking out for my well-being and I want to respect them."

"You can still respect them but still make them do what you want. It's not abusing your power as the princess. You want to do something, you should do it, no matter what."

The pink-haired princess stopped to think for a moment, lowering her head. Her eyes scanned the outdoors from the large, glass window. The white sheet of snow looked very fun to play in, or even just to touch. She really wanted to! How bad could it be? "Y-you're right, Luke. Can you come with me?"

Luke nodded. "Of course, Estellise. We'll go outside together. We better get on something warmer and comfortable though. The snow is wet like water when it falls on you. And, being outdoors during this weather can get cold, so let's bundle up. Don't want to catch an illness while enjoying the weather."

"Okay!"

The pair of children headed for the library's exit, holding hands with no shame or embarrassment attached. Luke was actually quite happy about being with Estellise. When his cousin Natalia passed away, he had felt loneliness and disconnected from the world. He felt he lost a part of him, not just his future queen. For the few years after his daughter's death, his uncle, King Ingobert VI was stricken with overwhelming anguish for his loss. With time, he had moved on, though needed to make sure Luke, his nephew, still was eligible for the throne as per law of the kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. In ND 2004 around the month of Gnome Decan, the king received a letter from the Ilyccian Empire, particularly from Zaphias. A councilman had written to him about the hardships their empire was facing, with the loss of their kind Emperor Sidos Heurassein many years prior, and that they only had two heirs left; Master Ioder and Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassein. Ever since the Great War and the end of the Hod War, tensions between the nations of Terca Lumireis and Auldrant had been extremely fluctuant. Malkuth and Kimlasca weren't exactly on great terms with one another, however, King Ingobert and the young Emperor Peony XI, majesty over Malkuth, had been making amends to solve their kingdoms' resentment for the event of Hod.

Granted, with Daath's leader, Fon Master Evenos, the two nations were able to mend the healing wounds of war and look forward to peace together. Unfortunately, this peace wasn't to be shared with Terca Lumireis, as the continents of either country were outright hostile.

Still, with the proposal that Luke marries the Princess Estellise, it would establish a founding bond for the people of both countries to see. They would unite the two nations with the marriage, and bring forth a new sign of hope for them. Not only that, but the princess was in fact a member of the Fabres. Suzanne's sister had wedded to the Emperor twenty-five years ago, and had given birth to the young master Ioder and Estellise before an illness overtook her. In a way, Luke and Estellise _were_ family. They were blood relative cousins and the proposal made sense. With advising from his own council, Ingobert decided to allow the decision to marry the two young heirs. However, he stated the two begin seeing one another and develop a relationship, and to allow him and her access to both Zaphias and Baticul respectively for visitations. The agreement on both sides finally fell through, and within the next couple of months, the two heirs were to meet for the first time.

It wasn't so bad for Luke. He didn't warm up to the young girl until after the year he met Yuri the second time in ND 2006. Estellise was a great girl, and she often had sprouting ideas for what they could do when they met up. Over time, when they couldn't visit another due to weather or, in Terca Lumireis' case, monsters were rampaging everywhere, making it next to impossible to travel, they would send letters to one another via pigeon carrier. It was great when they sent letters, but to actually see each other face-to-face was even better for them. When Estellise came over to Baticul, Luke would take her around the city and manage to show her something new. While he retained his cold demeanor, he still had a soft spot for the girl who would eventually become his new wife later on when they were older. He also had a soft spot for the delinquent Yuri Lowell, his dog Repede, and for Flynn Scifo as well. They were his first friends ever, and he treasured them.

It was also great that Luke could talk to Yuri anytime he wanted. Somehow, their fonslots were synced together, though either boy didn't care about the details about it. As long as they could talk, they were fine. It saved a lot of trees and ink that way.

On their way to Estellise's room, the two began conversing about different topics that ranged from favorite recipes to favorite books and what they did for the summer, as they didn't see one another during the season. They passed by a few patrolling knights, who bowed in their presence, and a few maid-and-menservants along the way. One in particular, a young woman in her early twenties with back-length blonde hair in light curls, tied in a ponytail had spotted them and smiled. "Lady Estellise, Master Luke." She said while bowing, even though she was currently carrying a basket full of laundry.

"Oh! Miss Mary!" Estellise chirped happily, smiling just as well. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, milady. May I ask how you and Master Luke are?"

"We're doing fine as well." Luke answered. "I'm taking Estellise back to her chambers. We'll be going outside for a while to see the snow."

"Oh!" Mary gasped lightly, her dark blue eyes widening just a tad. "Would you like me to accompany you to your chambers and assist in you dressing warmly?"

Estellise flushed in embarrassment at her maidservant's assistance. "N-no, it's all right, Miss Mary. Thank you for your offer. Please don't trouble yourself over us. We'll be all right." The pink-haired girl beamed reassuringly. Mary understood and simply bowed to them as she could. "We'll see you later, Mary. And please be careful!"

"Very well then, my lady. You take care as well. The same for you, Master Luke. I hope you are enjoying your stay here with the lady."

"I am. Thank you." Luke returned. Both heirs watched the maidservant leave before heading through the castle's corridors for themselves. It didn't take long for them to locate the pink-haired princess' room, having turned a few corners from where they had met up with Mary. "Here we are, Estellise." Luke said, letting her hand go slowly. "Would you like for me to wait for you out here?"

The girl simply giggled at his question, though shook her head. "No, silly. You should get ready yourself. That way, we'll both be done at the same time and can leave at the same time."

"If you're sure."

"Yes."

"All right then. Shall we meet out here in five minutes?"

"Yup! That sounds fine. See you in a little while, Luke!"

"Okay then." Luke watched and waited for his cousin to enter her room and close the door, making sure she was inside safely. For some reason, she tripped over…air. It was rather perplexing how one can achieve such a problematic situation such as stumbling over nothing at all. It became apparent to Luke that his future fiancée was capable of nearly anything, including mastering the artes of tripping over thin air. He was glad to know _he_ wasn't capable of such a performance. The redhead turned down the hallway, heading for the room a door apart from Estellise's own. Once he entered his personal chambers, the boy headed for his closet, knowing exactly what to look for. Since he practically lived in the castle at times during his visitations—that would last from a week to a whole month—he had clothes and his own room. It was likewise with his cousin and Baticul.

As Luke pulled out a comfortable coat from a hanger, he thought he would see what his good friend was up to. Couldn't hurt to check up on the older boy, could it?

'_Yuri? Are you there?_' The redhead spoke through the connection. It was funny how within his mind, the 'connection' was personified like a giant, open space of nothingness, yet, the background scenery consisted of dark colors and a violet, flaming effect erupted from the ground, and doors represented the open and closed connection. It was odd that in order for Luke to talk to Yuri through their synced fonslots, he would have to "open" that door and call his name, hoping his voice would reach the other door on the other side. When Yuri responded, Luke would "see" him in his mind, opening the door and speak. This was the space in which nobody could reach, except for them. It was like a secret hideout for them to escape to if they ever needed one another.

Personally, the redheaded noble didn't feel like he could rely on Yuri or anyone for that fact, despite having warmed up to him. But somehow, that black-haired juvenile managed to poke into Luke's barriers and take them down with only one word or two, and always with a sneer or some sarcastic remark. If anything, Yuri told him he despised people keeping things from him, especially if they were really close to him. On the flip side, Luke felt the same way. It was pretty complicated when both of them had something to hide or didn't want to tell the other, they'd find out sooner or later, due to the same connection that bond them together. Funny how that works.

Back to his earlier thoughts, Luke continued waiting patiently for the other door to open fully and for the older boy to respond. If he didn't get a reply, he assumed Yuri was busy and would try again later—

'_Yeah, Luke, what's up?_'

—Or not. The redhead smiled a bit when the other "door" opened and Yuri was visible on the other side, grinning at him as always. The two walked about halfway in their personified connection towards another so they could be in close range. '_I am about to go outside with Estellise—_' Luke started when the Ilccyian-native teen stared at him, truly perplexed. '_Princess Estellise, the second heir to Zaphias' throne._' He finished and clarified.

'_Oh. Sorry, still not really used to her name. Isn't she like your cousin?_'

'_Yes._'

'_I see. Anyway, what'd you need from me?_'

'_I just wanted to check up on you. Is that a crime?_'

Yuri's face feigned surprise, placing his hand over his heart. '_You? Wanting to check up on me? Why Luke, you shouldn't have._'

Luke rolled his eyes at the mockery. It was one of those things Yuri did to be simply Yuri. '_As you say. How is Flynn and Repede?_'

'_They're doing fine. We're staying inside today. It's way too cold to be galloping around like horses in the snow. And, I can't risk Flynn getting sick at all. I'm absolutely terrible at healing artes. I couldn't even heal a paper cut a few years back._'

Luke chuckled at the response given. However, it wasn't any news that Yuri failed at using the seventh fonon, granted that he _could_ use it. The guy probably just couldn't be bothered with learning how. '_You're impossible, Yuri._'

'_I know. I get that a lot from Flynn. He oftentimes tries to educate me in healing artes so I could help around just in case. But, it's really not my thing at all._'

'_Couldn't hurt to practice. You never know when you'll be in a fight by yourself or if you get injured and there are no towns and cities nearby. You should always be prepared for anything._' Luke lectured sagely, hoping the stubborn teenager would get the hint.

Unfortunately for the Baticul noble, Yuri did not. The dark-haired teen sighed, never forgetting to cross his arms. '_Seriously. You and Flynn are preaching the same thing to me. I feel like I'm listening to a broken record…on two different sides. I don't think I'm cut out for using the seventh fonon and everything like you two can._'

'_Well, try. There's nothing wrong with trying._'

'_Yeeeaaah, I suppose I could… But that's way too much work._' Yuri feigned a yawn and stretched his arms, emphasizing his apparent laziness of attempting to learn anything new. '_I think I'll do my brain a favor from imploding by not learning. That way, I'll have enough energy to spare when Flynn and I join the knights in a few more years._'

'_Ah that's right. You told me you and Flynn were going to apply for the knight guard in this city. Well, you do know that if they learn you can use the seventh fonon, they'll be drilling you into using it, right?_'

'_Heh, I didn't know that, thanks Luke. Now I know to not use any form of the seventh element anywhere near them._'

Luke sighed in exasperation. '_You're hopeless._'

'_Thanks sir genius. Your warning was useful. Anyway, I better get going. I don't want to hold you up from spending time with your cousin, and I don't want to let Flynn know I'm "spacing out again", if you catch my drift._'

'_Yeah, I understand. It's good to speak with you again, Yuri. I'll talk with you another time. Maybe I could come down to the Lower Quarter and see you three._'

Yuri shrugged. '_I doubt the knights would allow you to even pass last step that leads to the middle, Public Quarter. They'd never let you, a rich noble kid, step foot here in the Lower Quarter._' He didn't mean it that harshly towards his red-haired friend, but it was the truth. '_There's two entrances and exits in this city. One by the Lower Quarter and one by the middle Public Quarter. You would obviously have come through the Public Quarter's entrance. It's the sad truth._'

'_…That's…true. There was a pathway that led down towards the Lower Quarter, though the knights escorted me through the Public Quarter rather quickly, usually all the time I arrive here to visit Estellise. It's not like that in Baticul._'

'_Well, it's like that over _here_. One reason Flynn and I are gonna change the system. The discrimination us of the Lower Quarter get is just extreme from the damn nobles. At least those in the Public Quarter are tolerate enough to allow us through from time to time._' A brief silence emanated from the two friends as they said nothing, just simply stood there in their personified space, looking away. '_Anyway, I guess I'll let you go now, Luke. You've got important things to do. I don't want to hold you up._'

'_All right. But listen, Yuri._' The other boy by name gave his attention to Luke who continued once he had the teenager's eyes on him. '_I haven't told Estellise that you're my friend. I'm going to tell her when the time is right._'

'_Okay… What's that gonna do?_'

'_It'll start a bridge of acceptance. Estellise is a caring and understanding girl. She'll listen and most likely agree with me. If a noble like me, someone who isn't even a resident of Zaphias can befriend a citizen of Zaphias, especially one that's in, don't take offense, the Lower Quarter, it could start a wedge of understanding._'

'_None taken, but…why would you tell her that? Besides the whole accepting idea._'

'_If we can help change the discrimination from the inside, then it could spread throughout the world, between our two countries. It can be a start of a new idea. Estellise and I are going to marry when we're of age. Now is the time to make things happen while we're young. We might not have a lot of power, but together we can make a difference. I know it'll work._'

Yuri's expression actually softened into an understanding one, thankfully. At least he wasn't going to throw some remark about the idea. In fact, it looked like it made sense to him. '_Huh. Never thought of it that way. Flynn and I were going to join the knights and work our way up, to change the influence of the system, especially with the higher ups. What you said there is like doing half the work we need to do._' He pointed out, contemplating over the suggestion—or statement the redhead made. '_But Luke, I'm not going to ask you to do that for us. In the end, Flynn and I will have to work twice as hard to accomplish our dream. However, I won't deny your help either. The more the merrier, I'll say. If you want to help us for the greater good, by all means, go ahead. I just can't let Flynn know though. Call it our secret._'

Luke put his left hand to his chin, cupping it a little while he thought. '_I see. Then I'll mention it to Estellise today and get started. I also want a future to change this world as well. So that nobody has to suffer. Call our goals the same if you like; I'm not going to give up when there's so much to do._'

'_Good to have you on board with us, Luke. I'll chat with you later. Gotta go._'

'_Likewise, Yuri. Take care._'

The "doors" of their minds both closed, though were kept open just a tad bit, so the other could communicate whenever needed. Luke took a deep breath, feeling rejuvenated from…something. He didn't know what, but talking with Yuri actually helped. Now that he had something else to add onto his goals in life, he would have to get started on them. The sooner, the better. He didn't like how the system worked in the Ilyccian Empire. Both Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and Malkuth weren't anything like this. In fact, he compared them to be in stark contrast to Ilccyia's. _Don't worry, Yuri. I _know_ this will work for all of us, and for everyone._ Luke thought, encouraging himself. He switched his shoes for warmer boots, put on winter gloves, and made sure his earmuffs were on. The redhead buttoned up his coat, tossed on his white scarf around his neck and examined himself in the closet mirror. Everything was on just fine, and soon as he deduced that, a soft knock came to his door.

"Luke? Are you ready?" Uh-oh. He forgot he told Estellise he'd meet her out in the corridor in five minutes. Ah, he spent time with Yuri for some a while, it completely slipped his mind. So careless! Luke berated himself—never blaming the dark-haired teen's conversation for it—and hurried to the door, opening it to find his pink-haired cousin standing there with her coat, gloves and comfortable boots on. "I-I'm sorry Luke. I had been waiting for you for a minute, I thought you were—"

"No, it's fine, Estellise. I apologize for my tardiness. Something light came up and I just wanted to check on it, that's all." Luke reassured the girl, not completely lying.

"Oh, okay then. Are you ready? I'm so excited!" Estellise beamed jubilantly.

"I'm ready, let's go outside then." Luke reached for her right hand, closing the door to his room. Estellise blushed a bit, though it could be because of the handsome smile Luke pulled out for her. Was it not wrong to admire such a feature in her future husband? However, right now, they were just family, just cousins, who wanted to have a good time in the weather. The pink-haired girl grinned to herself; this would be the best time ever, she surely hoped. After all, Luke was here with her.

-x-x-x-

"It's so beautiful out here, just like we said Luke!" the pink-haired princess exclaimed, holding out her hands to "catch" the falling snow in her hands. She didn't mind that the snowflakes melted into water as soon as they came in contact with her hand; it felt so chilling to the touch! It was an amazing experience for her. "It feels like I can stay out here forever."

"Careful, you don't want to stay out too long. You'll catch a cold." Luke advised.

"Ah, r-right."

A few moments of silence they walked through the courtyard garden, watching a remaining flock of birds flying off towards the south. Everywhere they looked, it was a white, fresh blanket that had outstretched and touched every corner of the once grassy area. Luke eventually showed Estellise how to make a snowman, rolling up a large ball of snow as the body's base as the start. Intrigued, the girl followed the instruction of her cousin, rolling a ball of snow for herself. As Luke suggested, it wouldn't be bigger than the bottom snowball, but large enough to act as the middle. The two helped one another carry the medium piece, placing it on top of the first one. Luke patted down the snowballs to make sure they wouldn't fall over while Estellise made a smaller snowball for the head. Once the head snowball was on top, Luke made sure it stayed put, patting on extra snow just in case.

The two nobles stood back a little ways to examine their handiwork. "Something's missing." Luke pointed out.

"What is?"

"Snowmen usually have eyes, nose, a mouth, arms, and either a hat or a scarf." He answered. "Sometimes, people would use old buttons for the eyes and mouth. Then they'd use a frozen carrot as the nose and a couple of sticks for the arms. And, the scarf they would use is one they'd most likely never use again, same with the hat."

"Oh. What if we searched around the castle for those? I'm sure we can find most of them." Estellise suggested. "I-I mean, if you want to, Luke."

"That sounds like a good idea. Let's—"

"Lady Estellise, Master Luke!" A familiar voice interrupted the two young heirs. They turned to their left to see the maidservant, Mary, bundled up in her winter wear, but now carrying a small basket in her hand. "There you two are."

"Oh, Miss Mary. Were you looking for us? I'm sorry we weren't…" The pink-haired girl began, beginning to worry.

"Yes, but I knew you were heading outside. I figured I'd find the both of you and give you these." The blonde handed the basket to the princess, who took it carefully.

"What's all this, Miss Mary?" Estellise wondered, her emerald eyes upon the older woman.

"It looks like old things from the castle." Luke deduced, pulling up a button from the small pile collected.

"That's correct, Master Luke. I had a strange feeling you two would be making a snowman. So, I went into my room and gathered some unused material. I wanted to bring them to you." Mary replied, smiling warmly. "It seems my hunch was correct."

"Oh!" Estellise chirped, looking into the basket as well. "Luke, look! There's some old buttons in here. And a little scarf and a little hat. Now all we need is a frozen carrot for the nose and two sticks for his arms."

"I can get you a carrot from the kitchen storage, if you like." The blonde suggested.

"Thank you so much, Miss Mary. That would be wonderful."

"Anything to help you, Princess. I won't be gone for long." Mary said as she headed back inside the castle. The two cousins watched her go—yet again—for a couple of seconds. When she disappeared from sight, the young nobles began to work on the facial structure of their snowman. Luke started on the mouth and the buttons for the body while Estellise picked out similar buttons for eyes, pressing them gently in the snowball head. They collected two sticks that had been lying around in the garden, thanks to some fell branches from the trees overhead. The two finished within seven minutes, the princess smiling so far at their progress once they stuck the two sticks on each side of the snowman. "He's almost finished, Luke." The pink-haired girl said, wrapping the small scarf around the snowman's neck as Luke placed the hat on the head.

"Let's wait for Mary to come back with that carrot."

As the two waited, Luke began collecting his thoughts. Telling Estellise about Yuri wouldn't be the problem and he was very confident the girl would see his way, too. She had been crammed up in the castle ever since she had been born, and only had books to keep her busy, as well as his visits, and her own visits to Baticul. Luke often questioned the girl if she had seen the grasslands and scenery on the way to Baticul, however she only replied that the carriage never had any windows, so she could never tell when they were moving or not. The redhead found the answer very odd and suspicious, but paid it no mind after some thought. As long as the princess was safe and unharmed, then he was fine with it. However, he wouldn't ignore that it did bother him a good mile. Nevertheless, Estellise's answer remained unchanged, and Luke wanted to change that. There was a lot of things he wanted to change in the world, and by marrying the girl when they were older was the first step of doing so, he would. Not only that, he took a strong affection for the princess over time. Luke knew the pink-haired noble attached herself at the base of his heart, and he wouldn't allow it to leave.

He couldn't lose her and he needed her to trust him more than ever.

"Estellise, there's something I want to say." Luke started, turning towards her. She blinked and turned as well, matching his stance, and clasping her hands together politely below.

"Yes, Luke?" She asked, her emerald eyes shining with hope.

The redhead reached for her hands, holding them in his own. "There's a lot of things you may not know that's going on in the world. I've seen and heard many of them, and now, more than ever, I want to reach and achieve a goal of mine." The pink-haired girl blinked honestly, though nodded for him to continue. "I want to change this world, so that nobody can suffer. Estellise, right now, the government system in Zaphias, and probably everywhere else in the world, are acting unjustly upon the lower class. Discrimination is rampant, and I want to put an end to it. I want this world to be free from prejudice, free from unfair treatment, and right the wrongdoings. I want everyone to live happily and peacefully, a world with no strife and no war."

"Right now, I'm actually friends with a citizen of this city. He lives in the Lower Quarter. I met him a few years ago. I believe our friendship is the start of a new, building acceptance. No matter who you are, where you were born, or where you come from, that anyone can have a relationship." Luke paused to regain his breath, to stare right into her nearly same shaded eyes as his. "Estellise, will you help me? Help me change how the world is?"

The girl's eyes were sparkling, and Luke was sure she had shed a few tears during his miniature monologue. She eventually began to smile, more warmly than ever before, squeezing his hands with her own. "Luke…" Estellise began, closing her eyes for a moment before looking into his. "I know there are things on the outside of these castle walls, more of the world for me to see. As I've always wished to see them even when traveling to Baticul… But I've been prevented of that for so long. However long it takes, I will stand by your side and support you. I want to help you, Luke. Not because we are bound to marriage. You are apart of my family and I… I trust you, Luke. No matter what."

"Estellise… Thank you. I'll protect you from danger, everywhere it may lie. I promise."

"Luke… Yes. So will I. Everything in my power to protect you, too." The princess embraced her cousin, holding onto him tightly. Luke smiled triumphantly, though it was full of honesty and returned the hug just as much as she. "Your dream is a remarkable one. I believe you—no, we—can do it. We just have to stay beside one another."

The redhead noble nodded, lightly releasing Estellise from the hug. "Yes. We have a long way to go, but we can start doing something while we're young. We can start making a difference. Let's do our best, Estellise. For both of our countries and for the entire world."

The pink-haired princess beamed happily. "Y-yes, Luke! Always!"

-x-x-x-

**ND 2010 — Lorelei Redecan, 60th**

~Zaphias, Bedrock City of Peace~

1 Month and 14 Days later

-x-x-x-

'_Yuri, I'm telling you, she really agreed to it. She's going to help me…well, us, in the full scale dream of ours._'

'_That's great! And you waited _this_ long to tell me about it?_'

Luke sighed guiltily. '_Things came up. And I was sending letters to my mother and father in Baticul. I was worried the carrier pigeon got lost in the weather._'

Yuri shrugged. '_I see. Well, if you say so. Anyway, isn't it kind of late for his majesty to be staying up?_' He asked, smirking. The redhead felt a ring of rage stir up in his nerves, though brushed it off before Yuri noticed. Seriously, that boy could prod and throw witty comments out at any given time and it would be appropriate or annoying. '_I can feel the lamp by your bedside being on. Isn't it powered by a blastia core or something?_'

'_Yeah it is. Concentrating aer through the blastia core. Similar to how fonstone lamps in Baticul work; they concentrate on building fifth fonons into the lamp's base and light up from there._' Luke explained.

The dark-haired boy shuffled in the nothing space that was their connection. '_I suppose. Must be better than a damn candle._'

'_Right. Also, since I couldn't get a hold of you yesterday, happy birthday._'

'_Thanks. Flynn tried to make me a cake with Miss Marie's help._'

'_And how did that turn out?_'

'_The chocolate cake somehow didn't taste very chocolaty to me. Let's say it tasted like burnt pasta with lemon flavor on it._' Yuri replied, recalling the image very clearly. When Luke saw the image via the connection, he grimaced and cringed.

'_Ugh. I feel sorry for you._'

'_I managed to stomach a slice because Flynn was smiling at me. I couldn't tell him it tasted terrible right then, but I did eventually. I don't understand _how_ he managed to mess up the cake, but he did. I swear, he'll never touch any ingredient ever again._'

'_Perhaps you should teach him. You seem to be a decent cook._' The redhead advised.

'_Believe me, I tried, Luke. It was a simple sandwich recipe. He burnt the sandwich._'

Luke stared incredulously at the older boy in utter disbelief. '_…How did he burn a sandwich?_'

Yuri threw his arms up in exasperation. '_I don't even know how the hell he managed to do that. He just did. I think he has this ability to destroy any cooking ingredient he touches. He told me he could do it without my help so I trusted him… After that, I gave up. If he can't master a SANDWICH, then he just can't cook anything else. I told him if he didn't get it down correctly, I'd never show him how to make anything else. It's got him rolling every other day we can spare a loaf of bread._'

'_That is unbelievable._' Luke said after a moment's pause, still trying to process the image of sweet Flynn burning a sandwich. '_About your cake… Did you have any problems after that? Health-wise?_'

'_Of course I did. I had to cast a First Aid on myself for his COOKING._'

This piqued the noble's attention just a bit. He narrowed his green eyes on the personified version of Yuri's form in their mind, frowning. '_I thought you couldn't and didn't want to learn how to use any healing artes? What changed your mind?_'

'_Flynn's cooking attempt did._' Yuri bluntly stated.

'_…Good enough of a reason._' Luke admitted truthfully. Even though he hadn't tasted the blond teen's cooking, he was sure he didn't want to now.

'_Ha. Anyway, since your birthday was ten days before mine, happy birthday to you, too Luke. You were sort of disconnected when I tried to reach you. Call it payback when I didn't answer you on my birthday._' Yuri said with a light, playful sneer. Luke waved it off.

'_Yeah, I suppose so. Thank you anyway. Just the happy wishing is enough, since you can't exactly get here in the castle._'

'_Too bad, indeed._' The boy commoner replied in a simper-like tone. '_Anyway, what's his majesty doing up so late anyway? It's like past your bedtime curfew, isn't it?_'

Luke ignored the witty comment of 'his majesty' and went straight for the point. '_As I said earlier, I was writing a letter to my parents. I'm staying up to write one to teacher, Master Van. I'll be returning to Baticul on the eighteenth of next month, Rem Decan. So I have about a week or two to spend time here with Estellise and you and everything._'

'_Ah, okay. Van's that teacher guy who's training you with swords and magic back at your place, right?_'

'_Yes. And it's called Fonic Artes in Auldrant nations…_'

'_Right. I'm so used to it being called Magic here._' Yuri replied, lightly tapping his finger on his chin.

Luke chuckled at his friend's antics, continuing to write down on his paper.'_There's more fonons flowing in Auldrant than here in Terca Lumireis, if I recall. And aer is what flows mostly over here than over there. Don't you find that weird?_'

'_Odd, yeah I guess it is. But what's even odder is that when you open your fonslots to cast a spell, you're absorbing both aer and fonons._' Yuri added.

'_Isn't having or absorbing too much aer bad for you?_'

The older boy shrugged. '_Not really sure…Sorry I can't answer that._'

'_Hm. Estellise might know. She's been reading all sorts of books. I'll ask her in the morning about it. For now, I'm going to finish this letter to Master Van._' Luke said as he carefully printed a word upon the sheet of paper. '_I'll let you go, Yuri. I can practically feel your drowsiness. It's going to start making me tired._'

'_Me? Tired? That's an understatement._' Yuri claimed though he couldn't fight back the contagious yawn that escaped his mouth. Luke's mild glaring didn't help him, either. '_…Okay, I take that back. I am a little tired. We've been working our butts off all day long._'

'_I'm sorry to hear. Yuri, you and Flynn keep strong. The day in which the world will change will come, I swear._'

'_I know Luke. All this crap is going to be worth it one day. I'm going to hit the bed now. My brain's starting to fizz out._'

'_All right then, Yuri. Have a nice sleep._'

'_Yes, Mother. And I hope his majesty has a great sleep as well._' The older boy laughed lightly, though his words only meant well. It was hard for the redhead to suppress a chuckle to that. '_If you somehow are awake before me in the morning, wake me up. Tomorrow's a day off from chores and Flynn and I have planned to spend the entire day training our butts off until we get our swordplay down, and then studying for the knight guard exams._'

'_All right. Don't go frying your brain over the books, Yuri. It wouldn't do to not have anyone to talk to like this._'

'_The books won't kill me. Flynn's grinding me on studying and quizzing just might._'

'_Heh. Good night, Yuri._'

'_Good night, Luke._'

The door that was to Yuri's mind closed, though it was open just a tiny margin once again. The older boy usually left it like that, and tried to make it a routinely good habit whenever possible. Luke left the mysterious 'world' of their connection, also leaving his personified door open too, just in case. Within a few minutes of silence, the ten-year-old noble managed to finish his letter to his instructor. Luke put the writing utensil back into its ink jar, proofing over his letter to be sure he didn't misspell or leave anything out. It wasn't exactly a long letter at all; only a paragraph at most, summarizing the events during the last month—leaving out the promise he made Estellise and Yuri's presence of course—and explaining he would return on the eighth of next month, and that he should expect him back by then. After declaring the letter well written and error free, Luke cleaned off the feather ink, placing the lid back on and allowing his letter to stay on the desk. "I'll send it tomorrow morning to Master Van. I should really get some sleep now."

Luke turned off the blastia-lamp on the desk, allowing the near darkness of the night to surround the room. Of course, it wasn't completely dark—the moonlight had proven useful many times over his stay in Zaphias. It provided light when he needed it the most, and not to mention, it was captivating in a good way. "The moon is full tonight. Must mean good luck." Luke noted to himself, collapsing on his bed tiredly. After he was comfortable, he could faintly hear someone else lightly snoring. He chuckled softly again, knowing full well who it was. _And Yuri said he was just a little tired. The liar._ It wasn't long until the redhead succumbed to sleep himself, entranced by the soft, gentle humming within the pit of his mind. It only occurred whenever he and the aforementioned boy were close by; since they were practically in the same city, Luke had always heard the soft lullaby of the ringing song in his head, every single night. It felt like a reassurance of a peaceful rest.

Indeed, it was a peaceful rest…

"…He's finally asleep. Better get to work."

-x-x-x-

**ND 2011 — Rem Decan, 1st**

-x-x-x-

Castle Zaphias was in a huge uproar. The young duke, Luke fon Fabre had gone missing since last night. It was unlikely the boy had walked out of the castle by his lonesome. There were knights stationed outside for that reason. To keep intruders out and royals in. The councilmen were everywhere as were the servants of the fortress. Many a knight went searching for the missing Fabre boy, hoping he was just playing a mischievous game of hide-n-seek. Despite he may have not been the type to do so, they couldn't out rule the possibility. The Commandant had the entire city on lockdown once again and ordering more soldiers to be stationed out at Deidon Hold and towards Capua Nor. Because of this, business in the city never fell through. Many civilians' homes were checked thoroughly for a lost child before proven they were empty of all and any clues.

When knights came through the Lower Quarter in demand to search everywhere for the lost child—never giving out the details to prevent an outrage and leakage—the citizens complied. The Lower Quarter homes and the inn were checked, Yuri frowning they practically flipped tables and everything down rudely.

"I wonder what child they're looking for." Flynn wondered.

"Probably some stuck-up rich kid." Yuri answered, not even trying to sound excited.

"Regardless of who it is, Yuri, we should be worried. It could be someone from here."

"Well, if that were the case, then why didn't they say so? Everyone in the Lower Quarter work together and we're all a big family. If someone was missing from here, we'd have already known and began a search." Yuri tapped his foot impatiently. The knights were ruining his and Flynn's perfect day of training and unfortunately for the older teen, studying for the exams. "If knights are running amok all over the place, then it's obviously some rich, noble brat."

Flynn hummed in thought for a small moment. "…You're right. They wouldn't have come looking for a child from down here…"

"Exactly. We don't mean shit to them…"

"Yuri!"

Oops. He forgot Flynn didn't like it when he cursed. He remembered the last time he swore in front of Flynn; the blond had made sure to be the one to cook his dinner as punishment. It worked better than soap. "All right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. Okay, I did, but it's the truth."

"…Just don't swear like that. It makes me think you're mad."

"I _am_ mad, Flynn. But fine." Yuri sighed in exasperation. When the knights were done checking the homes, throwing the lower-class commoners dirty looks through their helmets, they left and headed back up to the Royal Quarter, however there was a barricade to prevent anyone from leaving or entering. "Ugh, they pis—" his grey orbs found the glaring sapphires of Flynn's, "—make me so angry!" Yuri finished, changing the original word he was going to say before he was threatened with the disaster of the blond's _amazing_ cooking talent. "Trotting around like they own the place."

"They sort of do own the place, Yuri." Flynn pointed out.

"Fu—I mean dang it. I forgot."

Flynn shook his head, sighing as well. "It seems like they're gone for now. I hope they find whomever they're searching for, regardless of status." Yuri crinkled a brow, but decided not comment on that. He was already in a foul mood at the knights for storming the Lower Quarter as it was. Now that he mentioned it, he didn't ever hear Luke's 'majestic' voice wake him up this morning. He wasn't exactly counting on it, but it would have been reassuring to hear it anyway. Maybe Luke knew about the situation? It couldn't hurt to try.

'_Hey Luke! You there? Did you hear about some missing kid from the Royal Quarter?_' Yuri tried, opening the connection. He waited for anything, any sort of reply, but within the painfully slow five minutes, he got nothing. That was oddly strange. '_Luke? You there, kid?_' He tried again, thinking the redhead may have rarely slept in. Yuri did tell him to go to sleep, in a way. Once more, Yuri got an eerie silence. Deciding to pry further to make sure the redhead was there and not ignoring him on purpose, Yuri's personified form headed through the strange, mystical, dark nothingness of the connection, walking right up to the door of Luke's mind.

If anything had surprised him before, this was now taking the cake. The…"door" to the auburn's mind was…closed. That was odd. Luke _never_ closed their connection completely. The door was always open, even if by a little bit. '_Luke?_' Yuri called again, hoping that maybe the Baticul noble closed it on accident during his sleep. That happened sometimes to Yuri, so it could have happened here. When nothing but his own echo answered him, Yuri began growing worried. Where the hell was Luke? '_Luke? Hey, it's me, Yuri. Open up!_' The teenager tried once more, trying to open the door. Nothing happened; it was bolted shut.

'_Luke! Luke! Open up! Wake up! Do something!_' Yuri now decided it was time to bang on the damn thing. His pounding only echoed around him, vibrating all around. After a while, he stopped using his hands and tried kicking the door barrier down. That didn't work, either. '_Damn it! I don't like this… This isn't like Luke at all._' Yuri grimaced. While it wasn't physical, kicking at the door wasn't the greatest thing ever. It kind of hurt. '_Maybe he's just really asleep… But this is really weird though. That kid's _always_ awake before me, like Flynn. This better not last or I'm going to be pissed._' After declaring that, Yuri left the connection, slightly taking note that the gentle humming he'd normally hear wasn't…humming anymore. It was empty and lonely there by himself. Whatever the hell Luke was doing, Yuri hoped it wouldn't waste anymore time.

-x-x-x-

Three weeks passed since the "lost child" search occurred in Zaphias. And each night when Flynn and Repede were sleep, Yuri tried to press into Luke's mind again. Each time, he was met with that solid barrier of the bolted, closed door. It didn't budge at all! He was getting more and more angrier, and his worry level rose to an alarming rate. The last time he felt like this was when that horrible incident with Flynn that he couldn't even remember. The barricades were still there, though knights were going in and out of the city every day, turning up with nothing to go for clues about their supposed missing child. And the more Yuri thought on it, the more he dreaded on the idea that the missing child was actually Luke. He didn't want to believe it, thinking his majesty wanted to have alone time with Estellise, but… the kid made time for him, even if it happened to be a few weeks after.

They always kept in touch. They talked when they had something going on and needed a second opinion. There was no explanation to Luke's sudden fort of defense on his closed connection. '_That bastard better have an explanation for this…_' Yuri thought darkly. Yes he was mad as hell, but he was more worried than it. If Luke didn't answer back, it could explain why the knights are being busy bees and running around. They searched the entire city the dark-haired boy was sure they did. Each night after became a trial of unrest for young Yuri Lowell. Sometimes he couldn't go to sleep at night, truly worried. Despite he put on a strong façade during the day, the youthful raven-haired teen could not escape the overwhelming vexation of his friend's well-being.

Really… Were his parents even notified of this?

Wait… that would have been a horrible move. If news of Luke's disappearance reaches Kimlasca, Yuri knew all hell would break loose. Luke was the third in line to the throne, as much as Yuri knew and was told by the boy himself. And, one reason why he was engaged to Estellise was to unite Terca Lumireis and Auldrant. There were also hints he truly did admire the princess, so it wasn't an entirely forced marriage on their account. Still, Luke's return date to Baticul was one week overdue, seeing as he would have left later on the eighteenth of the month. Maybe that was it? No, it couldn't be. _I still would have been able to communicate with him._ The ship to Baticul wasn't that long, seeing as fontech and blastia technology were used in the production of most noble and war ships these days.

Fidgeting in his studies, Yuri attempted to train to get his mind off the situation. Perhaps there was nothing to really worry about at all. For whatever reason that Luke closed the connection, that was his choice. The dark-haired teen fiddled around with a unique quirk of his wooden sword. Since he could use a weapon in either hands, thankfully being ambidextrous, he slashed at the air with his left, quickly switching the hilt into his right to slash twice with the right holding the hilt. Yuri managed the three hit combination at the air, then flipped the hilt of the wooden blade clockwise, holding out his left hand to catch it. He missed. Cursing himself, the teen tried again, winding up failing again and again.

_Maybe I should try using my right hand first, then left, then right, and then flip the sword hilt back to my left._ He thought, now trying it out. He held the wooden blade over his left shoulder and prepared to strike the air again. He swapped hands, slashing diagonally with his right, switching to his left to slash a second time, then the third slash was handed by the right again. After his triple hit combo, Yuri tossed his wooden sword's hilt counterclockwise this time, the sword spinning as it went in an upward arch. The boy raised his hand just a bit and caught it—

—on the blade, instead of the handle. "Ugh, I almost got it…" He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He would eventually get it right, for the sake of his sanity, and for the hope he would best Flynn in a sparring match. He hadn't been in the mood since the knights rained on his parade those couple of weeks back, and not to mention the anxiety of believing one of your friends was kidnapped. He honestly couldn't let it go, no matter what he did to try and distract himself from the situation. It crept up on him with every chance it had. All Yuri could do was hope to whatever high and mighty deity up there that Luke was safe.

_He better be… Or else I'm raising all sorts of hell. Luke… Just… Just be safe…_

Yuri was deadest on making sure Flynn _never_ knew of what he knew, even if it was just a thought. Flynn would go nuts and worry as well, which would cause the older teen to fall into a disease called anguish. As far as he knew, it was incurable as it would linger on for the longest of time. Yuri had to keep trying to press into the connection; maybe he would get something one day. Something.

Anything.

-x-x-x-

**ND 2011 — Ifrit Redecan, Loreleiday 28th**

-x-x-x-

Months had gone by with no visible sign of life from Luke. Word that the Commandant of the Royal Guard had gone to the Capital of Light to report something to the king there of the missing child, which Yuri immediately deduced as Luke anyway. If that was where the ash-blond commander had gone off to do, it was likely Baticul hadn't sounded the alarm of war towards Zaphias yet. Losing an heir to the throne was painful, but losing a close friend was just as strong. Yuri hadn't given up on the connection yet, having remainder vigilant to his word. The more he tried to bang at the door to Luke's consciousness, the worse it seemed to have gotten. By worse, Yuri began having strange dreams. It didn't help the dreams were the same thing all the damn time.

The odd dream always began with him in a room with Luke sitting a desk and was apparently writing something on a sheet of paper. After that, the in-dream Luke turned off the lamp and went to lie down in his bed, comfortably. The first time this happened, Yuri smiled down at the boy, noticing his relaxed, peaceful expression. He wanted to run his hands through his auburn locks, much like he does for Flynn at night when he couldn't sleep. Of course, Yuri's hand had gone through Luke's body, but he didn't mind it. Simply watching him sleep was fine enough. However, the sweetness of that scene suddenly cascaded into darkness, and he thought he heard someone's voice talking.

"…nally a…eep…ett…to…ork…"

Yuri wondered what that voice was talking about when all of a sudden, the darkness was…moving. Then, he found himself in a dark place, somewhere, but it was still moving. He saw Luke looking around, wondering where he was, but nothing seemed to adjust because his vision was growing hazy. He heard more voices, though he couldn't detect what they were saying either. It was just…so weird.

The next thing Yuri knew, Luke was…someplace different. It wasn't as dark or eerie as it had been before. In fact, it looked like some master of fontechnology and blastia technology had built this place. There was a large machine thing over Luke and he was lying down on another. The screen things that popped up displayed something, but Yuri couldn't focus on it as it was too blurry. Then, he heard Luke ask something, but it was all jumbled up and too disoriented. One thing he could make out was a visible, brown-looking thing on top of white. Yuri wanted to ask what the hell was going on…and he did. Of course, nothing in the dream responded to him, but he still wanted to know. Once the garbled mess of the scene disappeared, it was replaced with pain, so much pain. Yuri couldn't remember when he had felt like shit like that.

It wasn't him in the pain, but someone else. It felt like someone was taking something out of his body, like an important function of it, and splitting it apart. The pain was terrible! He couldn't imagine the person going through this hell. Why, why did it hurt so badly? After five minutes of that hurdling discomfort, it faded out strangely as it came. What the hell? Yuri could see that the scene of wherever he was had focused in a little more clearly and now, Luke was inside—a cage!? Where? What? When? How? The redhead ten-year-old had finally come to and was taken by surprise of his surroundings; there was no doubt he was in total shock.

_"Hello? A-anyone there? Hello! I need help! I-I'm stuck in here!"_ Yuri heard Luke call out, hoping that someone heard him. Anybody.

"Luke! Luke, I'm right here!" Yuri called out to him, trying to reach for the cage—only to phase right through it. "Luke!"

_"Someone! Someone please answer me! Help!"_

He kept shouting for help, but nobody would come. Nobody was there, except Yuri. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get a solid grip on anything that was within the dream world. In fact, he had forgotten he was EVEN dreaming; everything felt so real to him, he thought he was there. Luke kept pleading and shouting, banging at the bars, trying to get free, but nothing happened.

Every night for the past six months, the dream came back, haunting him into absolute silence each time. And, when the "ending" of the dream, in which Luke was yelling for help, he could do nothing but watch in horror. He eventually concluded that the pain was coming from the redhead. Yuri had checked the young boy thoroughly but didn't see any physical marks or anything on him that would look painful. But the one thing Yuri wanted to know; why? Why was he being shown this dream repetitively? What did it have to do with Luke? Why WAS Luke in that position? Could it be that…he _had_ been captured and was being tortured? When Yuri thought of that, his blood was boiling over in mad rage. Whoever had the balls to pull this off had the nerve—if Yuri _ever_ caught the bastard, he would run them in with something deathly sharp.

Yuri tried to concentrate on Luke's fonslots during the dreams, to get an idea or clue where the boy could be, but no matter what, he couldn't sense them at all. If bastard that was responsible had closed his fonslots during the kidnapping…

One night in particular made his skin crawl. Luke was in the cage, screaming for help and to Luke's—and Yuri's—relief, someone had come. That brown and white he saw visualized partially clearly, giving the person a masculine appearance. It seemed as if Luke recognized the person because his face was full of cheer.

_"Master! Master Van! You're here! You came to rescue me. Please, help me!"_ Luke pleaded, trying his best to not cry. Yuri looked over to the tall man who seemed to be in his early twenties. He didn't even seem remotely excited about his student being locked in the cage, pleading for his help. _"M-Master Van?"_

_"Luke. You are better off staying here, with me. The people who have come for you have made a replacement for you… I'm sorry."_ The man called Van said as he opened the cage to let the red-haired boy out. Luke's expression fell the moment 'replacement' was spoken. Yuri wondered what exactly he meant and felt that broiling rage seething up. _"Master…What do you mean? Th-they can't replace me. I-I…"_

_"It's too late, Luke. I've seen it for myself. There is another boy in Baticul right now who looks exactly like you. He even has taken your friends as his own."_

No he did not just lie to Luke. _"It's… It's not true. Master Van, it's not true!"_ Luke shouted, over and over. The man called Van attempted to embrace his student, only to be rejected. _"It's not true! H-he! Yuri wouldn't…!"_ What? Yuri wouldn't what? Luke mentioning his name in the dream? Was this…real? Yuri couldn't find the words to describe what he had been feeling the entire time, viewing that horrible…nightmare of his. That "ending" only happened twice and it scared him. Luke was…

"Yuri? Are you okay?"

Oh, Flynn's voice. The dark-haired teenager had been sitting on the opened window in their shared room, staring out into space. He had lost a ton of sleep from the dreams—more like nightmares in his case—and always looked like he was brooding. That wasn't too far from the truth, in fact. "I'm fine, Flynn." The older one announced rather briskly, not even sparing a glance at the blond. He was much too concerned about the well-being of the missing heir of Baticul to try anymore.

Flynn apparently didn't like the tone he was given. "Yuri, something's wrong. You're not "fine" as you say you are. You've been like this for months now… There's something wrong and you're not telling me. Are we not brothers and best friends?"

"Yeah, we are." Yuri responded offhandedly, still continuing to stare into the warm, morning sky.

"…" Flynn dotted, still not liking the short, gaffing-off answers the older boy was giving him. He had enough of this façade and was going to change it, even if it meant getting hurt in the process. Yuri's brooding was not in the everyday agenda of their lives and if this kept up, the teen would develop insomnia for life. The blond marched over towards Yuri, put his hands on the other boy's arm and jerked him off the window's sill. Yuri hadn't taken account to this and stumbled roughly on the wooden floor.

"The hell is your problem, Flynn!?" Yuri snarled, glaring grey daggers at the younger boy—who was now the same height as him.

"_You're_ the problem, Yuri. For the past seven months, you've been distracted, angry and depressed. You keep gaffing me off with short answers to my questions. I don't know what's wrong with you."

"You don't need to know what's wrong with me. I said I'm fine."

"No you're not! You're obviously losing sleep at night. It's worrying me!"

"So what? Bother somebody else with your psychology or whatever. I'm not in the damn mood."

Flynn frowned disapprovingly at the stubborn teenager in front of him. For one, he was avoiding him, and two, he was swearing. "Yuri… Don't do this. Don't hide whatever is bothering you from me. I mean it when I say I'm worried about you. This isn't like you to be musing over something for _this_ long." Yuri rolled his eyes, not even bothering to make a comment on the blond's response. He sat back down at the window, trying to concentrate on the dream again, to find any clues whatsoever that popped up that could hint him to Luke.

"Yuri! Please, listen to me! Tell me what's wrong!"

"Damn it, Flynn, shut up. I said I was fine. I don't need you to whine over the whole thing."

That did it for the blond. He tried to make things work, but if Yuri didn't want to tell him, then fine. "Yuri, damn it. What is wrong with you? Why are you pushing me away? I'm trying to help you get over whatever is making you feel this way, but you're not even—! You're just being selfish and self-absorbent! You're not caring how your actions are affecting those around you! I'm worried so much about you but you won't even tell me what's wrong! I don't get it, I just don't! I—!"

"Flynn! _Enough_!" Yuri snapped. That did it for him too. This is partially what he was worried about in the first place; Flynn's nagging worry. It reminded him of the nagging fairy the forest boy in the story had to endure through for the entire journey to save his kingdom from a villainous warlock. Yuri was stressing out, that much was known, and he tried so hard to keep his emotions in check. But Flynn, sweet Flynn, managed to snake his way through his façade and poke it annoyingly. "Just shut up and _fuck_ off!" The dark-haired boy jumped from the window he was sitting, landing on his feet and ran off. He had to get away from the blond quickly before he truly snapped.

"Yuri!" Flynn called out, but the older boy kept running until he was out of Flynn's sight. He darted around the alleyways of the Lower Quarter, behind some stacked up boxes and sat down. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. For reasons unknown to him, the concentration of aer and fonons were flowing right into his body and it felt like he was going to explode or something dangerous. _Stupid, stupid, stupid Flynn! How the hell does he manage to do that to me? Augh, so aggravating! He knows just how to get under my skin, I swear._ Yuri took in deep breaths, trying to settle down before something was destroyed or worse. It wasn't long until the high concentration of energy had dispersed back into the atmosphere where it belonged. Yuri was definitely not trying to use any spell—besides, the only one he knew is First Aid anyway.

_It's not my fault I'm so worried about Luke. I don't even know where he is. Those dreams feel like they're my only clue… and I don't even know where to begin._

**"**_Do not worry, my king. I shall protect my scion. All of them._**"**

What the. Yuri's eyes snapped open, wondering where that voice came from. It referred to him as a "king". Wait, this again? The strange presence had a warm feeling to it, and it was enveloped in nothing but the seventh fonon. It was also speaking to him—it could only mean one thing. _Lorelei?_

**"**_It is indeed I. While you are much older than the last time we had spoken, it appears you will not be able to perform your necessary powers until much later than expected._**"** Apparently, Lorelei showed up rather randomly. Every time the masculine voice spoke to him, it had been when he was near Luke or something to do with that boy. It was so weird and it had only been three times total so far. _Wait, what do you mean? And what about Lu—_

**"**_I am watching over him, my young king. He is safe, but full of distraught and pain…_**"**

Yuri ignored the 'my young king' part and focused on the 'full of distraught and pain' bit. _Where is he? Why is he hurt? Does it have to do with the dreams I've been getting? Actually, don't tell me the other part, just tell me where he is._

**"**_He returns to Baticul now, my young lord. While a tragedy has befallen him, he continues to strive for the return of his birth land. I am afraid that is all I know._**"**

It felt like a huge, giant burden was lifted off Yuri's shoulders. Somehow, Luke was going home. Even though Lorelei was cryptic and weird, Yuri could tell the aggregate sentience was telling the truth. If Luke was on his way to Baticul, back to his home, then he shouldn't have to worry about him too much. _That's…good to hear. I wish he'd contact me sooner or later. I haven't heard from him in over seven months…_

**"**_…Be cautious, young one. Lord Maxwell senses grave danger in the future… And remember, do not allow your emotions to rile up. They are connected to your power, Origin. You must keep in check with your abilities. And… do not forget your mission…_**"**

_Huh, what? Who's Maxwell? Wait—!_

Unfortunately for Yuri, Lorelei's voice disappeared yet again. Damn that Seventh Fonon sentient. "First he gives me good news, then bad news and leaves me with a cryptic message. Yup, that was definitely Lorelei." Yuri summarized, crossing his arms. "I wonder what he meant. And what the heck is 'Origin'?" The mentioning of the word almost made Yuri freeze for a split second. Where had he heard that from? Didn't he know that from somewhere? As swiftly as the random occurrence came, it drifted away. "Weird…"

A couple of minutes after the encounter with the elusive Seventh Fonon, Yuri decided to stay where he was. He just needed some time to himself, to get recollected. All that worrying about Luke made him VERY uneasy over the last seven months, and he was surely about to die of repine had Lorelei not inform him. Perhaps he would try to contact him when he was in his right mind. Right now, he'd probably yell at the kid and that wouldn't lead to anything good. Not only that, he still had Flynn to deal with.

"I'm so not in the mood to talk to him right now." Yuri snorted, remaining where he was.

"Yuri?"

The boy by name opened his grey eyes, snapping his head in the direction he heard his name. Fate apparently decided to toy with him and throw him into more complications today. Flynn somehow found him in this back alleyway! Was there seriously no escaping the blond ball of torment? _…Well, it's better to get it over with now than later._ "What is it, Flynn?" The tone of his voice was a bit softer than earlier. Yuri didn't even bother trying to hide. When he glanced around to see the blond, he noticed Repede was beside him. Ah, so that's how he found him so easily. The war dog lied down next to Yuri in the small space provided, and the boy took advantage of the action and brushed his hand into the wolf-dog's silky, blue fur.

"Yuri… I…" Flynn started, fumbling over what he was going to say. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was just so worried about you and… that doesn't excuse my behavior earlier."

Yuri stopped petting Repede and slowly stood up, facing the apologizing blond. "Flynn, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped and shouted at you like that. So it's really my fault. You were just worried about me…"

"That is true. However, I still acted upon my feelings without considering yours and what you may have been dealing with."

"Well to be honest, that's just the very Flynn thing of you to do. If you didn't worry and yell at me like you do, then you just wouldn't be Flynn anymore."

The blond smiled genuinely, happy to get that off his chest. "Thank you, Yuri."

"Don't mention it. And, I was worried about Luke. You know, we haven't seen him in a few years so I guess I overreacted about it." Yuri confessed, not straying too far from the truth of it all. He still didn't want Flynn to know the exact truth regardless.

"I have missed him as well, but I try not to worry too much because I know over worrying would make the person uneasy." Flynn said honestly. "It does not mean I don't care. I do."

"I know what you meant… Anyway, I think I'm feeling a bit better now. Just had to talk about it I guess."

"It's always good to talk about your problems, Yuri." Flynn advised maturely. "Can we…please not go through that again? No secrets between us?"

Yuri closed his eyes for a moment, repressing his emotions. No secrets between them, hm? Well, perhaps he could keep one secret from him. After all, it was extremely personal. No matter how much Flynn pried, he'd never let him get a hold of that information regarding the nightmares about their red-haired companion. "All right then, Flynn. No secrets." The boy with blue eyes smiled again, glad to have straightened things out with his adoptive sibling. "Now let's get out of here and spar. I have some leftover steam to let out."

Flynn's smile changed into that of a challenging smirk. "Very well, but you'll never beat me."

"Huh, we'll see about that!" The two teenagers raced out of the alleyway and back to their shared room, grabbing their swords and heading right back out again. Repede followed them, wondering how they did that so quickly. Apparently, humans were very amusing, especially his two masters. As he watched them spar with their wooden swords again, the blue dog simply lied down a bit ways off, never letting his trained, light blue eyes off them. Humans… they were simply amusing.

-x-x-x-

**ND 2011 — Ifrit Redecan, Remday 51st**

-x-x-x-

_Yuri… _

_If you can hear me… I'm sorry. I heard your voice, I heard it every day, calling to me. You were trying so hard to get through to me. I heard your voice. I'm sorry. Somehow… those people who had kidnapped me closed my fonslots… We're no longer synced together. _

_Master Van… He said… he said they replaced me with someone else. With another boy that looks like me. And, they threw another one away somewhere. I think that other me is somewhere in your country… I'm not too sure. But I went back home and I found the first me copy at home with my parents… It's… It's so… I don't know. _

_I know… I know you wouldn't leave me, Yuri. You're my friend. But, that fake me is going to take my life away. Going to take everything from me. Yuri, I'm going to find a way to open our connection again Yuri. Wait for me. I'm going with Master Van to Daath. He said he's going to train me so we can change the world. I think he has the same idea as I do. I want to see what it is, what his vision is._

_I don't know if you'll ever get this Yuri. I'm just very upset. One day I will explain everything to you. Don't get mad at me and don't give up on your dream with Flynn. I'm going to start calling myself Asch, so I don't get noticed by people who know me. If you ever meet Estellise…please keep her safe for me._

_Your friend, Luke._

Yuri had woken up that morning with an annoying, nasty headache that felt like his head was splitting apart. During his dream the night before, he thought he saw Luke and he had been talking directly to him. It was an odd occurrence, until he actually started hearing Luke's voice through their connection. Immediately he abandoned his dream to see if it was true. Unfortunately, the dark-haired teen was met with the same bolted door again, but he actually _felt_ and _heard_ Luke's voice through it. So, it hadn't been a dream after all.

Luke was apologizing to him, that much was certain. Something else about the kid going to someplace called Daath with Van and someone replacing him. So, the other recurring dreams from those months prior _were_ actually real then! It actually happened and the only way to explain how and why Yuri saw them was if the connection to Luke had opened up in desperation. They were apart of the redhead's memories. From thinking so much again in less than a week, Yuri suffered a dreadful headache.

As much as he admired Flynn's healing artes being poured over him like a giant pillow of down, Yuri couldn't say they weren't exactly helping, but the blond was going overboard again.

"Flynn…stop healing me. You'll drain yourself raw."

"Sorry Yuri," the blond apologized, releasing the seventh fonons from his fonslots. "I just wanted to make sure you were feeling all right."

"Not entirely recovered but feeling better than before." Yuri replied truthfully. "It feels like I've been in bed all freaking day. So annoying."

"You just weren't feeling good, that's all. The sun hasn't fully set completely. Perhaps we can go out for a stroll? More importantly, taking Repede out for a stroll." Flynn suggested.

Yuri shrugged. "I guess. Might help the lingering headache." He yawned and stretched his body after sitting up. There was no harm in taking a walk. Plus, it would put him at ease over Luke's words. If he was going with his teacher to Daath, at least he was with someone safe. But, something about that guy rubbed Yuri the wrong way, and he didn't like it. Perhaps that was what Lorelei had warned him about last week. _Won't know until I know for sure._ The raven-haired teen deduced. Once Yuri was ready to go, the boys and Repede headed outside their room, around the boardwalk and around the center fountain. For some reason, Yuri didn't want to stroll to the Public Quarter, but ah well. He wasn't in the best of moods to argue.

However, the teen with grey-eyes began to slow down when he thought he heard something musical in his ears. Yuri thought it had been someone playing an instrument, but no. It was that same, damn ringing noise when he first met Luke. Except this time, it had gone from gentle to blaring loud. Yuri could have sworn he saw some colored, streaks of lights forming around him. **"**_Origin!_**"** What the, Lorelei? Contacting him of all places and of all times! _Lorelei…?_

**"**_This way…_**"**

For some reason, Yuri felt his body moving robotically on its own, away from Flynn's lead and back down to the Lower Quarter. It didn't take the blond long to figure out his best friend wasn't following him anymore. "Yuri? Wait, where are you going?!" The older teenager couldn't even find it in himself to respond to Flynn; his legs were taking him somewhere. Soon enough, he was heading for the exit of the city! "Yuri! Don't go outside the city's barrier! It's dangerous!" Flynn shouted in panic.

_Lorelei, I know I trust you, but what are you doing?!_ Yuri questioned the sentient, hoping for some answer to this predicament.

**"**_There is no time… You must save him._**"**

_Save? Save who?_

Yuri's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a snarling growl. That sounded like a wolf monster! "Seriously?" The black-haired adolescent complained when his grey eyes spotted the creature. However, that wasn't the only thing he saw. Just barely within the city's barrier limit, a person was lying out there, with a blanket over them. Okay, who was stupid enough to lie out here like that? It was a good thing they were within the barrier, or else that idiot wolf would have gobbled them up by now. Still not taking any chances, Yuri had regained control of his legs—mysteriously—and rushed up to the person. He didn't have a sword to fight off the monster, but he did know something that would make it turn tail.

The teen gathered in a small portion of aer through his fonslots, and taking aim as he ran up, shot his left arm up as if he were using a sword. "**_Azure Edge_**!" He shouted, the blazing, blue energy of aer following a straight line towards the hungry beast. The azure form of magical essence hit its target with a deadly impact, causing the gangly creature to flee. Once it was long gone, Yuri walked up to the lying down form of the idiot who got him into this. "Hey, you, get up. This is no place for you to sleep." Yuri said, kneeling down to check on the person.

On closer inspection, however, Yuri nearly gasped. That mop of red hair that framed the person's head, and that fair skin—there was no way. "Luke!?" When he turned the blanket that wrapped the boy's body, the older boy was sure it was his best friend. Wait, wasn't he going to Daath with his master? This didn't make any sense! How could he be here when he was over there? "What the hell is going on—?" Yuri asked out of nowhere, but widened his eyes when his mind crossed something.

Replacement.

Luke had mentioned that to him in his message through their connection, the last time Yuri would ever hear that kid's voice until he mended their connection somehow. When Yuri looked closer at this strange boy that resembled his friend, he noticed one thing that differed; this boy's hair was just a tiny, margin lighter than Luke's. Then it hit him; was this Luke told him about? That they, whoever they were, "threw away another him"? Was this the "other him"? It certainly seemed that way. Not only that, the sleeping boy felt very familiar. Yuri sensed this feeling when he first met Flynn. How extremely odd. Wait, what was he doing thinking? He had to get this kid—Luke alike—into the city and fast! "Marie might able to tell what's wrong with him."

"Yuri! Are you all right?!" Perfect timing, Flynn.

"Flynn! No time!" Yuri said immediately when the blond was within range. He carefully picked up the redhead, hoisting the kid upon his back. "This kid needs help. Come on!" It took Flynn a few seconds to find out what Yuri was carrying on his back and gasped in surprise when he did.

"Is he hurt?"

"I'm not sure. I just found him. Come on." Yuri's eyes met with Repede's when he caught up to the dog. "Repede, run ahead of us and give Marie a heads up!" The war dog barked and obeyed, picking up speed and was gone. The two brothers hurried as fast as they could as well, heading back into the city via the Lower Quarter entrance once again.

-x-x-x-  
-x-x-x-

Thanks to Repede, the two boys had gotten Marie to examine the kid they found out in the field randomly. Apparently, all she found was that he was unconscious and had a few bruises here and there—something Flynn could handle on his own. The two had taken the boy to their room, placing him on the bed and Flynn sat down in his desk chair, which was nearest the bed. The blond teenager had been pouring healing artes into the unconscious boy's form, hoping they would not only heal his injuries but wake him up. Unfortunately for Flynn, the boy didn't stir, but his light wounds were no more. At the very least, he looked somewhat peaceful than when they found him.

Flynn looked down sadly at the boy they found. He looked so frail, so alone, like he had been. If it hadn't been for Yuri, Flynn wouldn't have known what would have happened to him. Oddly enough, the blond felt a strange, kinship-like sensation emanate from the strange redhead. What was that? Perhaps seventh fonists attract one another? Maybe this boy was a seventh fonist? That might be it. "But, I wonder who left him out there like that? Surely it couldn't have been someone from the city?" However, the more Flynn thought on it, the more likely it could have been someone in the Royal Quarter who simply didn't like their servant anymore and decided to strip him bare of everything. If Yuri was in the room and Flynn said that aloud, he was sure the older boy would agree with no questions asked.

On the bright side, at least they could spare the kid some clothes, albeit they were too big for him. Better than nothing on him.

"Perhaps he's the missing child?" Flynn wondered, thinking that could be a possibility. But, the knights had checked and surveyed nearly everywhere around the city, including outside its barrier. They wouldn't have missed this child on first sight like that. So, he crossed that out of his checklist. Was he an abandoned orphan like he and Yuri? How terrible. He looked no more than ten-years-old, too. Flynn's thoughts were interrupted by Yuri, who stepped inside the room with a bucket full of the warmest water he could get. "Sorry I'm late. I had to make sure the water was warm enough."

"That's fine, Yuri. I just finished healing his wounds. He's also breathing regularly again. Other than that, I don't know…"

Yuri set the bucket down beside Flynn, kneeling down to gaze at the boy they found. He was an enigma, that was for sure. "It's kind of strange. I nearly felt like I knew he was out there. That wolf was getting awfully close."

"While I disagree with how you did it, I'm glad you did. You saved his life."

"Yeah, I guess." Yuri shrugged it off passively. He knew he did, but wasn't going to take the credit for it. "So I guess we wait until he wakes up."

Flynn nodded and turned his direction towards his friend. "Yes. There's not much else we can do anyway until he does."

"All right. Let's try to kill time… with something."

"Hm, how about a game of cards?" Flynn suggested with a smile.

"Cards? Like poker cards?"

"Not exactly. They are just children's playing cards. I bought them from the Public Quarter with the money I earned. They were only 5 gald."

"Seriously? Wow, they must either be really cheap or that's a good deal."

Flynn smiled again as he went to his drawer, taking out the game cards. "The vendor was a nice woman. She gave me a discount on them because she said I looked cute."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Lucky you."

"Indeed. So," the blond-haired teen sat on the ground near Yuri with the playing cards in his hand. "Do you want to learn how to play a game?"

"Sure."

Within the next half hour, Flynn had shown Yuri how to play the simple games of Go Fish and 21. As the games progressed, Yuri felt he was actually winning for once, until Flynn showed him up each time. After they were bored of the cards—well, Yuri getting bored and frustrated at them because he couldn't even win one game—and decided they should play Rock-Paper-Scissors to kill more time. That only lasted ten minutes, with Flynn scoring a total of twenty-three points and Yuri with five. Despite he didn't win the game, the raven-haired teen was proud of his five points. He had managed to beat Flynn more than once at _something_. Repede yawned as he curled up in his usual sleeping spot, listening to the incessant ramblings of his two masters.

Eventually the two stopped bickering and Flynn found himself playing with Yuri's hair for some reason or another. Feeling the silky strands of the older boy's hair felt comforting. Sometimes it was black and then sometimes it was a dark violet. It was strange how his friend's hair could be two colors at the same time. He even asked Yuri if he dyed his hair; the answer was a "no" and that his hair had always been like that ever since he was little. Before the two could engage in another conversation, a light muffle captured their ears. The kid!

The two thundered their way towards the bed instantaneously. "He's waking up." Flynn announced.

"About time." Yuri added. Their excitement even got Repede curious.

They waited patiently for him to open his eyes. A half a minute later, the redhead managed to open his eyes, being emerald green in color, very similar to a well known set, staring blankly at everything his eyes could take in. At first it didn't seem like he had actually seen them, but after a few moments, it appeared his eyesight adjusted to the dim lighting of the room, provided by the only candle they could own until blastia lights were installed. The first thing he actually saw was the boy with the dark hair, then the boy with light hair, and lastly Repede. Flynn smiled at him while Yuri threw on a face of "oh-no-not-again". He recognized that look the instant the auburn opened his eyes; lost.

The same lost gaze he found on Flynn those years ago.

"Hi, what's your name?" Flynn asked, making Yuri wanting to face palm. It sounded so eerily close to the question he had asked the blond. However, the boy didn't give an answer. He only stared at them, perplexed at whatever was being said to him. Yuri clasped a hand on Flynn's shoulder, drawing the blond's attention from the curious redhead.

"Flynn…"

"Yes, Yuri?"

"We're going to have a lot of work to do." Yuri said, nudging to the still staring auburn in the bed. "And I mean a _lot_ of work. Do you remember when we first met?"

"…Yes. I remember you scaring me in the back alley and I fell down." Flynn recited the memory well. "But what does it have to do with him? Are you saying he's like me?"

"Yeah. And I think this kid was abandoned."

"…Wait, you're planning to keep him with us?" Flynn asked, not exactly surprised but it was still evident in the tone of his voice. Seeing that look in Yuri's eyes, Flynn couldn't ignore or out rule the possibility.

"Well, what else can we do? Can't just leave him. He's going to be lost and helpless. Nobody's probably going to care for him." Yuri added, frowning. "He's an orphan like we are. I'm sure Marie wouldn't mind it. We can all share a room."

"True but Yuri have you forgotten? We're going to be joining the knights when we hit eighteen. That's in three years from now." The blond pointed out. "How are we going to care for him and accomplish our goal at the same time? We'll most likely have to leave the city to fend off monsters and other duties."

Oh right. He completely forgot about knighthood. Damn. "Well…we'll have to raise him! Reteach him everything he needs to know. Add him to the brotherly love. If he's got nobody, then we'll be those some bodies for him. Then, he'll be in the know and can help out Marie while we're out."

Flynn sighed at Yuri's proposal. "You just come up with the most craziest ideas ever, don't you?"

"That's just my brain actually trying to work."

"Seriously." The blond added lightly. "Well, I suppose I cannot ignore it. I don't mind seeing how it's like having a younger brother. What should we call him?"

"How about Luke?"

"What? That's our friend's name. He can't just have it like that."

"Flynn, doesn't he remind of Luke though?" Yuri pointed out to the auburn, who was now taking interest in Repede. The dog was busy garnering all the attention as all dogs love doing, wagging his tail when the timid hand stroked his head. "Besides, there isn't just one Luke in the world. There's probably a bunch of them out there."

"Yeah, but—"

"I win. His name is Luke." Yuri finalized, grinning victoriously to himself. "He should have your last name, Flynn."

"…Luke Scifo?" Flynn tried it, sounding absolutely ridiculous. Yuri frowned.

"…On second thought, he can have my last name. Luke Lowell."

"That just sounds more weird than mine. How about Luke Lowell-Scifo?"

Yuri sighed in exasperation at the attempt made. He and Flynn shared glances before laughing at the combined last name. It was strangely odd and to them, sounded stupid in a good way. "I don't think so. Plus, your last name is special, Flynn. It should be only reserved for you. Scifo's can only have blond hair and blue eyes. Luke does not meet those requirements. Therefore he shall be dubbed Luke Lowell."

"I suppose then, Yuri. You found him first, so it's only right…"

The dark-haired teen grinned again, now looking at the redhead with Flynn. While he didn't look like a "Lowell" right now, Flynn had a reason Yuri would turn him into one. If anything, another witty, sarcastic brother would be rather annoying. In his mind, he deduced he'd provide this Luke with knowledge, especially on healing and magic artes. The blond knew the first thing they had to teach him was walking, like he had. Then, the speech and vocabulary. After that, everything would fall into place. The sad thing is, they had three years to accomplish this. Well, if they work hard at it, Luke will learn everything he needs to know and more. They would just have to book it down and start first thing in the morning tomorrow. It won't be so bad teaching someone now would it?

Flynn only hoped Yuri wouldn't shove sarcasm down the poor kid's throat.

* * *

Notes:

1. Okay, I know 20k words isn't exactly what you'd call "short"… I lied. *dodges angry mob bullets*

2. Yuri did in fact reference to Legend of Zelda, particularly Ocarina of Time. I couldn't resist. Did you see it?

3. I used the Asch Gaiden (manga) as reference.

4. Uh yeah. I changed Middle Quarter to Public Quarter. A lot of fanfics in the Vesperia section claimed it was called Public and not Middle as I thought it was, so I changed it appropriately.

5. Yeah, I included some more First Strike into this. I had to go back to chapter 1 when it was mentioned in a review and I'm like "ohhh I see now". Derp moment, ha-ha.

6. If you all were interested in songs I listened to while typing this, here they are in no particular order:

"Sacred Nature", "Sweet Escape", "Sign of Affection", "Our Love", "Time" and "Hope" all by Paul Cardall. "Keeper of the Flames" and "Remembering the Light" by Kevin Kern. "Memories" by Ryan Stewart; "Gwenlaise" by Scott Cossu; "Harvest Moon" by Back to Earth (I lol'd at the name of the song as it reminded me of a certain game franchise); "Full Moon Sonata" by Suzanne Ciani; "Cosmic Love" by Kitaro and "Is it You" by Crush 40. Lastly, I found Presea's theme from Dawn of the New World. It worked for a particular scene here. ;)

All great songs; I recommend them to those who like instrumental and emotional songs. Except for the marvelous Crush 40 song. I totally felt it with the Luke and Estellise part of the story. Yes I love Crush 40. They seriously need to make more songs… Non-Sonic ones too.

My hands seriously hurt after typing all this…

Anyway, enough of that rubbish. Thanks for reading!


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